


Do You Love Me, Too?

by mapledonut



Category: Youtube RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-10-03
Packaged: 2018-04-09 15:08:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 24,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4353716
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mapledonut/pseuds/mapledonut
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being closeted is never pleasant, but there is nothing more important than living a life that makes you happy. Highschoolers Ally and Stevie discover that together.</p><p>**Rated T for mild sexual content**</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. She Just Knew that it Would

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer!! This is purely a work of fiction. I based the characters off of the youtubers, Stevie Boebi and Ally Hills, but this is written with the highest respect for them. The story and all that is portrayed here is fiction and a figment of my imagination.
> 
> That being said, thank you so much for taking the time to read this. I apologize for the lack of editing in all the chapters in advanced. I have a lot of fun writing this, though, so I hope that you enjoy reading it just as much!

Ally sat in her new room, a guitar hugging her body tightly. She was playing random chords in an attempt to form a new song. After the move, though, she had found herself struggling to find the right words to put in a song, and today was no different.

Ally’s family had just finished moving in time for school due to her father’s job. It wasn’t an interstate move, but it did leave Ally disappointed. The move was going to cause Ally the trouble of having to be the new girl at a school during her junior year. Frankly, she was heartbroken. She had made close friends, friends that she could trust and almost open up completely with, and all she hoped was that this distance wouldn’t cause them to drift apart. In fact, they were friends in whom she had almost confided in with her biggest secret: she was gay.

There was nothing else she wanted to do but tell those closest to her, but every time she tried, the words stayed stuck in her throat. She was scared, she wasn’t sure how any of them would react, and she had no reason to yet. Once she did find someone, though… she already made her mind. That’s when she would tell them.

“Allison!” Ally’s mom called from downstairs, breaking her concentration from her music block.

Allison Hills. Yep. That was her full name—a name that wasn’t dislikeable, but Allison sure didn’t like it, either. Instead, she strictly went by Ally and playfully ignored or glared at those who called her Allison as a joke.

“What?” she called out in reply, and gently placed her guitar to her side and walking down to meet her mom.

“We’re in a new town. You should go out for a drive and explore the area,” her mom explained in the midst of filling the refrigerator with groceries.

Ally complied, grabbing the car keys and swinging them around her finger. This was going to be her new home now, and she might as well make the most of it.

\-------

Before she knew it, Ally had found her way to a nearby theatre. The new Hunger Games movie was finally out, and after hearing such great things about the book, she had high hopes for the movie. The reason being, she had never read the books. Truth be told, Ally had no interest for books and only read the novels written by Carlyn Greenwald, a friend of hers who had already started publishing books as a high-schooler.

She quickly bought a ticket for one and made her way in, not at all anxious about watching a movie alone. It was something that she did quite often. Her eyes did take a quick glance at her surroundings, though, as she took in the fact that she was no longer standing in the theatre that she had always been so familiar with. Lost in thought, Ally was suddenly interrupted by a body slamming into her. Popcorn sprayed into the air around her, some landing on her head, and she watched as butter stained into her shirt.

 _Who is this idio-,_ she thought, and her heart pounded in her chest in irritation before her eyes glanced up to see a stunning face in distress. In a heartbeat, that irritation turned to shock and shock to nervousness, and Ally found her heart pounding throughout her body harder than before.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry!” the girl sputtered. “I wasn’t watching where I was going. Let me go get some napkins.” She made her way to the condiments table and furiously grabbed at the flimsy, brown paper.

Ally stood in place and couldn’t help but stare at the girl who had just run into her. She was gorgeous, and she was definitely Ally’s type. Her facial features well matched her long, wavy hair, and she had the curves to match. Ally caught herself staring and looked away shyly. But she wanted to keep looking. Of course she did. The girl was gorgeous. And allowed herself to sneak another glance at her. The girl caught her eyes this time, and Ally could feel her cheeks heating up, but couldn’t look away. She gave Ally a slight smile, and began dabbing napkins at stains and brushing popcorn off Ally’s head.

“I am so sorry,” she repeated. “I don’t think the stain will come off like this. Do you have time before your movie? Let me get you cleaned off in the bathroom.” She grabbed Ally’s hand before waiting for a response, dragging her in the direction of the bathrooms. Ally stumbled a little to follow her, and she felt her heart skip a beat as this girl touched her hand. She smiled to herself, feeling the heat of the girl’s hand against hers. She wasn’t even mad, yet she was glad that this girl was making it such a big deal because it meant that they could spend some time together.

 _Ally. What are you thinking? Pull yourself together,_ she thought. She was gay, yes, so these sudden feelings weren’t a surprise, but to get a _girlfriend_ was unthinkable. That would mean she would be out of the closet, or, she would have to lie and use the “just a really close friend” excuse. _Girlfriend?_ Ally stopped in her thoughts. _We just met for the first time, who said anything about going out? I need to pull myself together… I’m just getting to know her because she dumped popcorn on me._

“Hey.” Ally found herself speaking for the first time since the incident. She didn’t know what she was going to say, but she did feel bad that she hadn’t said anything yet. Pulling back on the girl’s hand to stop her, the girl turned to meet Ally’s face. Realizing that they were still holding hands, the girl dropped it, muttering a small ‘sorry’ when she did. “It’s totally okay. It’s just an old shirt, and I can just as easily wash it. Don’t worry about it.” Ally gave her a smile to reassure her, to which she smiled back. Seeing that smile made Ally smile even more.

“Okay…” she replied, “well if you’re sure… at least let me run back to my car. I have an extra shirt so that you don’t have to smell like butter for your movie.”

“That’d be great, actually. Let me go with you.” All Ally wanted to do was spend more time getting to know this girl. “There’s still some time left before my movie,” she reassured.

On the way to and back from her car, she had found out that this girl’s name was Stevie Boebi. She was a year older than Ally and had also decided to come to the movies by herself to watch The Hunger Games. Unlike Ally, though, she loved to read and came because she was a fan of the books. Stevie escorted Ally back to the restrooms so that she could change into the shirt, and Ally consciously breathed a little longer and deeper to take in Stevie’s scent. Ally liked this girl and enjoyed talking to her, and she definitely found her attractive. Time passed quickly when Ally was with Stevie. They had watched the movie together, as they both went alone, and Ally walked Stevie back to her car after.

Ally fidgeted a little nervously as Stevie unlocked her car. She wanted to see Stevie again and wondered if she should ask for her number. _Would that be weird? Would that count as me hitting on her? Does she even bat for my team? We got along really well though…_

“It was nice meeting you, Ally. I’m so sorry about the shirt, once again.”

“It’s really no problem. Thanks for lending me your shirt,” Ally replied, before realizing that she still had to return the shirt. She jumped a little inside and smirked to herself. “Speaking of which, I still have to return your shirt. Let’s exchange numbers so that I can make sure that this gets back to you.”

“I would love that.” Ally handed Stevie her phone, and she put her number in. “Here,” she handed it back to Ally. “Text me so I can save your number.”

“I’ll definitely text you,” Ally replied and felt herself blushing in embarrassment. She had dragged out “definitely” for a bit too long, making herself sound desperate. “Y-y-you know, j-just so that I can get this”—she pointed to her shirt, or, Stevie’s shirt—“back to you.” Of course, she knew it didn’t work. Her excuses always sounded like what they were—excuses, and the shakiness of her voice gave her intentions away.

Stevie laughed and played along. “I’ll be expecting a text then. I had fun tonight.”

Ally felt her heart rate increasing for the millionth time tonight and hoped that Stevie felt the connection that she had felt, too. “Me too,” she smirked, and before she knew it, Stevie had pulled her in for a hug. She inhaled and took in Stevie’s scent, the scent that was now lingering on her own body, and wished that this moment could last even a second longer before Stevie pulled away, got into her car, and drove off.

Meeting Stevie had lifted her spirits, bringing her to believe that there was something great coming from what Ally had once believed to be a disappointment. This would be good for her; she just knew that it would.


	2. No New Messages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My writing has gotten really tense from all the essays, so please bear with me these first few chapters until I get used to creative writing again. I'm really hoping that this will kick off well, though!
> 
> The first few chapters will be updated pretty quickly, but it will slow down a little as time goes on because I had finished a couple chapters already before deciding to post this.
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading!

Stevie jumped awake at the sound of her alarm. Today was the first day of school, and this was finally her senior year. Of course, before all else, the first thing that she had to do was check her phone. She had given her number to Ally yesterday, but she had yet to receive a text from her. This morning was the same, once again. No new messages. Her heart sank at the sight; she had been expecting Ally to text her back quickly after what she had said yesterday. And Stevie definitely wanted a text from her.

Ally and her clicked really well. Sure, they had been talking a little formally, and it had been slightly uptight, but it _was_ their first time meeting. Not to mention, she had just given Ally a butter shower. What had mattered was, they had similar interests, silences weren’t awkward, and Stevie had felt a pull towards Ally—plus, Ally was hot. She was wearing only a low cut tank top and some jeans yesterday, but even in such a casual outfit, she had attracted Stevie’s full attention. And Stevie hoped, maybe Ally felt the same pull towards her. At least, she sure hoped Ally did, because she didn’t want to just be known as butter girl. She wanted to be her friend. Of course, they couldn’t really talk until Ally texted her first—that was the only thing on her mind.

She sighed, allowing the sigh to release some anxiety that had built up inside her. There was no use thinking about it. Today _was_ the first day of school, and she didn’t want to go to school feeling down about this. Worrying would lead to nothing but white hairs.

The dim bathroom lights illuminated her surroundings as she walked in to get ready. After coming home from the movies yesterday, she had already taken time to pick out her first day of the school outfit to give herself more time to apply make-up. It was something Stevie loved to do while dancing around to music to pep herself up for the day, but the make-up was never for other people. It was for herself. She didn’t need make-up to impress; it was more an expression of who she was. Plus, she thought she looked pretty damn hot with it, and without it, of course. She loved to play around with the colors, and sometimes, just sometimes, she thought that it made her look pretty badass. _Like today,_ she smiled to herself, applying dark red lipstick that added a tint of shine and a whole lot of confidence to her lips.

Before leaving the house, she looked at her phone once more to check for a text from Ally. Feeling disheartened that there was still no text, she pocketed her phone, shouted bye to her brother, Clay, and walked out the door to her car.

\------

At Mira Costa High, it was a known fact that Stevie Boebi wasn’t interested in relationships. Throughout her 3 years there, there had been an onslaught of males, all who tried to woo her with no success. She was attractive, and the whole of East High knew it. Plainly put, she just told them that she wasn’t interested and genuinely didn’t believe any of them to be attractive. At least, some of them were good looking, but none of them were people that Stevie would date. She had slept with some of them as one night stands, but she was never interested in a relationship with any of them. There was a reason for this, of course. Stevie was only interested in girls, never giving the male population a second glance. No one knew except her two closest friends, Cammie and Shannon, who happened to be girlfriends. The fact that they were openly gay made it easier for Stevie to open up to them. When she had told them her biggest secret, she actually didn’t know them that well. All she knew was that they were girlfriends and that they were extremely kind to those around them. They had been quite popular before they came out and was subjected to extreme bullying after, so Stevie knew that they understood what it was like to be different. And so, she decided to take the risk of them outing her and just told them. It wasn’t that she was worried about the opinion of her classmates—if anything, she would just tell them to eat shit; she just wasn’t ready to come out yet.

“Stevie!” Shannon shouted across the halls, her hand in Cammie’s. Stevie gave her a small wave, ignoring glances from her fellow students. After Stevie suddenly became close friends with Shannon and Cammie, the rest of the students had found it weird. Stevie, the one everyone adored and wanted to be, becoming friends with the out-casted Shannon and Cammie? That just didn’t seem right to the students at East High, but Stevie hated these social barriers and didn’t want them to limit her choice of friends.

“Shannon! And Cammie!” she greeted. Even though it had been the summer, they didn’t have much time to hang out. “How have you guys been?” she asked, pulling both girls in for a quick hug.

“We’ve been good,” Cammie answered, giggling. “So I have to tell you. Shannon told me not to, but…”

“Are you really going to tell her?” Shannon asked.

“Of course! It’s too good not to tell. So we played kiss, marry, diss yesterday… and Shannon implied that she’d rather diss you than kiss you. It was such a difficult life decision for her.”

“That is not true. I said that I would _eskimo_ kiss Stevie! Just not peck her on the lips…”

Stevie pouted, an amused frown forming on the corner of her lips. “I am personally offended. Why wouldn’t you want to kiss this?”

“Because… because we’re besties for resties! It’s just…” Shannon proceeded by making disgusted faces and sounds to explain her emotions. “…bleh.”

Stevie opened her mouth and narrowed her eyes, acting offended. “How dare you. Consider yourself un-friended,” she retorted, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. These girls… she knew that she would never kiss them, either. They were just too close to her for her to _want_ to kiss them. It would feel weird and oddly disturbing. She was grateful they were such good friends with her, though, and she didn’t care about what others thought about their friendship as long as Cammie and Shannon didn’t care. And she knew they didn’t. Maybe that’s why she got along with them so well–-because they didn’t give a shit about what others thought. They had grown to become so comfortable with who they were after coming out.

The first bell rang, signaling the girls to head off for their zero period classes. Stevie had always enjoyed psychology and decided to be a teacher’s assistant for the junior class—the same class that she had taken last year. She had loved every part of it and had gotten to know the teacher, Ms. Greenfield, pretty well. Having a teacher assistant class in the morning was also a plus for her. Stevie was, for sure, not a morning person, but this class would give her time to wake up a little. The first day of school was always different, however, because she felt wide-awake for a good start to the new school year.

Stevie stepped into class and took a seat at the designated desk that sat adjacent to the teacher’s wooden desk in the front of the classroom, watching as the juniors poured in and started to catch up with friends they haven’t seen for the summer. Once the second bell rang, the students obediently sat themselves down in random seats and allowed Ms. Greenfield to begin her beginning of the year syllabus talk, informing the students of what they were to expect for the class, and, giving Stevie an introduction, as well.

With the formalities out of the way, Ms. Greenfield was finally able to begin the first activity. She opened her mouth to speak, but was abruptly interrupted with a light tapping on the door. It creaked as it opened, and the principal stepped into the room. A girl stood at her side, her face slightly shielded by the authoritative figure’s bigger body. Once the principal moved to make room for the girl to walk in, Stevie could hear herself gasp. Her breathing grew quicker; her eyes widened in surprise. And all of a sudden, she felt the corner of her lips tug upward uncontrollably and broke out into the biggest smile.

No, it couldn’t be.

But it was, wasn’t it?

Ally was standing in the doorway, the principal by her side. The principal spoke. “I’m sorry for interrupting, but we have a new student here. This is Allison Hills. Please make her feel welcomed here.”

She no longer had to wait for a text.


	3. Happiness

Ally glanced around the classroom, constantly shifting her weight between her two feet. It was always hard being the new girl at a school when the most important things to teenagers were first impressions. She had never really made great first impressions—sometimes she came off as too awkward; other times, she came off as weird. And she definitely didn’t want to be labeled the weird one out in a high school this big.

“Hello, Allison. Thank you for joining us; why don’t you introduce yourself to the class?” Ms. Greenfield greeted formally with an arm outstretched towards the front of the classroom. She gave Ally a quick smile and took a step back to make room for Ally in the front. What she didn’t know was that by doing so, Greenfield showed Ally was she was covering with her body the whole time.

Stevie Boebi.

The Stevie Boebi that she had met yesterday was right in front of her. Her thin, pink lips were pressed together in an attempt not to smile, but the golden glint in her eyes and the slight upward arch of her perfect eyebrows were revealing more than she knew Stevie wanted to reveal. It was a smirk that Ally wished she could see more of; instead, she looked away in embarrassment and focused her eyes to the floor. Her heart accelerated from a normal _thump_ to uncontrollable rapid fires that left her with a lightheaded feeling and a need to deepen her breaths to steady herself. She didn’t know if the feelings were from the butterflies that made her heart skip beats as Stevie watched Ally in a mixture or shock and pleasure, or if they were because she was standing paralyzed as dozens of eyes met hers expectantly.

“Allison?” Ally heard between the heartbeats that beat against her head. The soothing, almost dream-like voice of Ms. Greenfield shook Ally awake from the trance that she had entered. She tilted her head slightly towards the teacher, and opened her mouth nervously to address the class, careful not to make eye contact with Stevie. One look, and she knew her head would be a mess again.

“As the principal said, my name is Allison—” she cringed as she felt the unfamiliarity of those words escape her mouth, “—Hills. Call me Ally, please. Really. Call me Ally,” she emphasized in a tone that was lighthearted and received a laugh from the class. The sound that came from her classmates calmed and steadied the tangle of mess inside of her, or was it the sound of laughter that she had heard from Stevie?

“Thank you, Ally.” Mrs. Greenfield looked down at the clipboard she held in her hand. “You can take the seat next to the other Ali,” Ms. Greenfield stifled a laugh at her own wittiness and asked Ali to raise her hand. Ally watched as a girl in short, blond hair put her hand up. She had a very confident demeanor, in which Ally really enjoyed. She walked over and took a seat next to her.

“Hi, Ally. I’m Ali.” Ali raised her eyebrows in amusement and rolled her eyes. “I don’t really get why people would find that amusing, but hey, at least I get to meet you.” Ally had been thinking the same thing. Ali seemed easy enough to approach and very friendly; she was glad that this was the first person she met here—besides Stevie, of course. “Hey,” Ali continued. “Do you have plans for snack yet? I could show you around the school if you’re down for that.”

“That’ll be great. Thanks, Ali.”

            ----------

The bell rang. Ally admitted—it was hard trying not to stare at Stevie for the remainder of class. There were times when Stevie would be talking to the teacher or helping other students out, and Ally would sneak in peeks at Stevie then. But ever since she saw her, she had no idea how to approach her. She made Ally nervous. Nervous and quiet and Ally didn’t know quite how to deal with that.

After Stevie had given Ally her number yesterday, Ally had laid in bed staring at her phone for the longest time. She didn't know what to say so in the end, she just didn’t send anything. It had constantly been on her mind, though, and she spent all of the morning thinking about it.

Ally stepped out into the hallway, only to be met by Stevie’s voice calling out her name. Her heart stopped along with her steps, and she turned around to meet the face that had put a smile on her own.

“Ally! What are you doing here? Or, I guess you’re here to attend this school. But I never expected to see you here!”

“Me neither. I was _so_ shocked when I saw you,” Ally said, still stunned at the fact that she had ended up going to the school that Stevie went to.

“When you saw me?” Stevie chuckled. “You mean, when you tried not to look at me?”

“I-I… t-that… s-sorry.” Ally couldn’t believe Stevie had noticed.

“It’s totally fine. I was shocked too, but I’m glad you’re here.”

Ally smirked, her body overflowing with warmth. “Woman, who wouldn’t be?”

“Woman? Girl, who are you calling woman?” Stevie shook her head in wonder. “Ally Hills, you’re so weird. But I’m liking it.”

“You better be liking it, woman.” Ally smiled innocently. All the nervousness she had felt towards Stevie seemed to disappear. “But we should be getting to class. I wouldn’t want to be late on my first day.”

“That’s the best day to be late! But you’re right. I’ll see you later.” Stevie paused, a small glint in her eyes. “I’m still waiting for that text though.” She gave Ally a wink before walking off.

Ally couldn’t explain how Stevie made her feel. It was a mixture of nervousness and wonder and amazement and happiness that Ally couldn’t describe in words.

Or maybe she could. Maybe she just didn’t want to admit it.

She liked that girl. A lot. Ally Hills liked Stevie Boebi.


	4. Just Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this is more necessary in this chapter than any-- disclaimer!! This is purely a work of fiction. I based the characters off of the youtubers, Stevie Boebi and Ally Hills, but this is written with the highest respect for them. The story and all that is portrayed here is fiction and a figment of my imagination.

_Ally Hills is fun to tease_ , Stevie laughed to herself in the most endearing tone possible. It was a weird feeling, being strangely attracted to someone so quickly. She had never given many people a second thought, but Ally was one of the strange few that she wanted to get to know better. She was quirky in the weirdest way possible, but it was a good quirky that left Stevie wanting to learn more about her.

She had wanted to ask Ally to hang out with her during snack and lunch, but she was never able to. During snack, she had seen Ally… but she was with the other Ali. Ali had given her a tour around the school and escorted her to the locations of the rest of her classes. That made Stevie smile. Stevie didn’t know Ali personally, but from what she’s heard, Ali was kind. And Stevie was glad that Ally’s first friend at Mira Costa High was Ali. At lunch, Stevie had walked around school looking for Ally, but she was nowhere to be found. It would be so much more helpful if Stevie had Ally’s number, but, not surprisingly, Stevie was still on hold for the text that Ally had promised.

Checking her phone once more to see no text, she put it in her back pocket and unlocked her car. Whenever school started, she held the responsibility for picking up her younger brother, Clay, and taking him home before heading off to work. Stevie and Clay lived without an authority figure at home. They were emancipated minors—sure, they had welfare help from the government, but Stevie still needed to work a little in order to completely provide for her and her brother. It was a topic that Stevie didn’t like to bring up and had never really explained to anyone else, something that stayed with her and never left her side. She was not ready to explain it now, and she wouldn’t explain it until she was completely ready.

            ------

Stevie gave Clay a smile and a nudge as he hopped into the car. “So, how was schooooool?” Stevie asked, in a ‘curious sister trying to pry for information’ kind of tone.

“It was good. We didn’t learn too much since it was the first day, but I mean, school’s school.” Clay was smarter than most of his grade and spend a lot of time studying sciences and theories. At times, he was the know it all, but Stevie knew that her brother did it in good nature. “How was school for you?”

Stevie couldn’t resist but tell Clay about Ally. “There’s a new girl at school. Her name’s Ally. She’s a junior, but I’m the TA for her zero period class. I’m hoping to get to know her better…” Stevie drowned on, telling Clay about her classes and friends, slightly mentioning how she tried inviting Ally for lunch but couldn’t find her. She didn’t want Clay to be too suspicious since he thought she was straight, but she also had an urge to go on about Ally. Her rant was stopped mid-sentence by a vibration in her butt pocket. “Sorry Clay,” Stevie started. “I think I have a text. Can you check it for me?” She took her phone and handed it to her brother.

He took it. “Umm…it says it’s from an unknown number.”

“What does the message say?”

“It says, ‘Yo girl, what you up to?’” Clay furrowed his brows. “Do you know who this is? It sounds like he’s trying to hit on you,” Clay laughed.

Stevie focused her eyes on the road, her lips spreading into a subtle smile. “It might be Ally,” she said softly. “She asked for my number because I helped her out a bit. Can you text her back to ask?” _Just a small, white lie… it’s not completely untrue, right?_

“‘Is this Ally?’ sound okay with you?”

Stevie nodded and thanked Clay, placing her phone in the cup-holder as she pulled up into the parking spot designated for them. They lived in an apartment complex so expectedly, they didn’t have their own driveway. “I’ll do laundry and cook dinner tonight before you get home, Stevie.”

“Thanks, Clay,” she responded as Clay left. Stevie checked her phone again, reading the text and laughed. ‘Yo girl, what you up to?’ Was that really the best Ally could think of? She quickly saved the number, and her phone vibrated again.

**Ally Hills [3:35pm]:** Who else would send that to you?

_That’s true_ , Stevie laughed. She couldn’t imagine anyone else sending that text to her.

**Stevie Boebi [3:36pm]:** I swear, Ally, you are so weird. I was waiting for your text. Took you long enough.

Stevie nodded to herself. A friend can be waiting for another friend’s text, right? There’s nothing wrong with that, she reassured herself.

**Ally Hills [3:40pm]:** Admit it, Steve. You like it. Why else would you be waiting for a text, then?

**Stevie Boebi [3:41pm]:** You got me. Fine. I do like it. It’s different.

Stevie sat in her car, exchanging texts with Ally. She didn’t have to be at work until four, so she had some time to spare. The mall that she worked at wasn’t too far from her place. Well, of course, she didn’t work at the mall; she worked in a small clothing shop inside of it. It was an independent clothing store that she liked, and besides getting money from her pay, she also got great discounts on clothes and make-up, which was a huge plus. She had been working there ever since her and Clay had to provide for themselves, which had been 2 years ago. Because she had been there for so long, they had given her a couple raises so she was no longer working on minimum wage. Most of the workers her age would only stay for a couple months or just the summer; LA customers were never fun to deal with, and some of them just got too fed up to continue.

**Ally Hills [3:44pm]:** In a good way, of course?

**Stevie Boebi [3:45pm]:** Of course in a good way. Would I be this interested in talking to you if it wasn’t?

**Stevie Boebi [3:45pm]:** Hey, I have to go to work now. I’ll talk to you later, though.

**Ally Hills [3:46pm]:** Alright, I’ll see you later, then, sucker.

            ----------

Stevie pulled into the parking lot again, tired from work. She was glad that it was the first day of school because it meant that she didn’t have any homework she had to do. After parking, she took her phone out again to text Ally back.

**Stevie Boebi [9:39pm]:** I just finished work. Do you have any plans for lunch tomorrow?

**Ally Hills [9:41pm]:** I was wondering when you’d text back! J I’m probably going to hang out with Ali again

Stevie felt a wave of disappointment rush over her, quickly willing herself to replace it with happiness. Ally was really easy to talk to, so of course Ali would want to hang out with her, but Stevie also wanted to hang out with Ally, too.

**Stevie Boebi [9:43pm]:** Do you… mind if I join you guys?

**Ally Hills [9:45pm]:** Of course! I’m sure Ali would be fine with that. I’ll see you tomorrow then, Stevie.

Stevie grinned when she read the text. She was finally going to be able to get to know the intriguing Ally Hills more.

She wanted them to be friends.

            _Just friends._

 


	5. Falling For a Straight Girl

“Ally! Stop stomping around,” Ally heard Kimber yell as she paused in her victory dancing. She had read the text message again and again, letting the words sink in. Stevie Boebi wanted to hang out with them. Just those words alone made her ecstatic.

There are two kinds of people—those who light a small spark—a spark that grows bigger on its own—or those who are an explosion that needs to be fed constantly. Stevie was the first of them. Ally didn’t know why she was so attracted to Stevie, but Stevie was one of those girls who left a spark in her heart that wasn’t even close to dying out. She was a tad scared for a couple reasons—she was closeted, she didn’t know how Stevie felt, and she knew that she couldn’t suppress these feelings even if she wanted to. They just weren’t going away.

 _No point in worrying about it,_ Ally thought to herself, shooting Ali a quick text.

 **Ally Hills [9:54pm]:** Alright if Stevie joins us for lunch tomorrow? :)

 **Ali Spag [9:55pm]:** Stevie?

 **Ally Hills [9:56pm]:** Stevie Boebi. Psych’s TA

 **Ali Spag [9:56pm]:** I know who Stevie is… that’s the point. EVERYONE knows who she is. Stevie Boebi wants to hang out with us? Lol that’s a shocker

Ally couldn’t believe her eyes. She didn’t know Stevie was that popular. In fact, she didn’t really know that much about Stevie other than the fact that Ally loved talking to her. If she was that popular, she must have a lot of friends that she would want to hang out with… right?

 **Ally Hills [9:58pm]:** Is she _that_ popular?

 **Ali Spag [9:59pm]:** Mmhm. I’m totally down for it, but I still don’t understand haha did she tell you why?

Ally stared at her phone, letting the question sink in. Stevie really hadn’t told Ally why; the only reason could possibly be that Ally is interesting to Stevie. Other than that, she was just as clueless as Ali.

 **Ally Hills [10:00pm]:** Lol I’m just as lost as you are…

 **Ali Spag [10:02pm]:** Well, you must be special then. Superstar Stevie Boebi hunting you down

 **Ally Hills [10:02pm]:** That can’t be it, Spags. Anyways, I’m going to bed for tonight. I’ll see you tomorrow :)

Ally laid on her bed, her mind a mess. She didn’t know what to think of Stevie Boebi. Stevie had called her interesting, but there was no way that Stevie was interested in _her_.

 **Ali Spag [10:05pm]:** You’re right. You’re not gay, she’s not gay. Hell, she’s been with a couple guys before, I hear. But alright then. Night, Ally.

 _Yep. Yeeeep._ That confirmed it. Stevie Boebi was not gay, not one bit. Ally Hills had no chance with _the_ Stevie Boebi. But Ally knew… she could never change someone’s sexuality no matter how much she would like to or how much she tried. And more importantly, she would never forcefully try to change someone’s sexuality. A wave of emptiness dug a hole into her, but Stevie couldn’t fill it. Stevie would never be able to provide the love and companionship that she wanted, and she would never ask her to do that. So she promised herself—she would never make her. She would cram these feelings tight into a bottle, a small, airtight bottle, and shove it into the back of her heart where no one would be able to find it. She would cover it, camouflage it, conceal it, make it so hard for anyone to find… because she cared about Stevie.

Ally rolled onto her side, the warmth of her blanket providing comfort and protection. She breathed in and let the familiarity of her own scent rush over her, as the thought of Stevie cuddling with her passed through her mind. It was a thought that was quickly dispelled. Ally would do anything to stop the spark from growing.

 _At least I don't have to worry about coming out anymore_ , Ally sighed to herself bleakly. Tears dripped down her face, as Ally rocked herself to sleep.

Falling for a straight girl was never easy.

            ---------

“Ally!” the other Ali shouted from across the parking lot, running up to Ally. “Second day of high school. Excited?”

“I’m feeling okay,” Ally smiled weakly. She couldn’t get much sleep yesterday after thinking too much about Stevie and had woken up multiple times in the middle of the night. Ever since getting up for school, her mind had been constantly battling the thought of Stevie.

“Hey, Ally. You really alright? You don’t look too great right now,” Ali commented. “Well, I mean, you look fabulous, but you seem out of it.”

Ally smiled. “I’m fine,” she reassured. Ali gave the other a doubtful look and sighed.

“If you say so… well, okay. I know we haven’t known each other for long. Hell, we’ve only known each other for two days. But if you ever need to talk, I’ll be here, alright?”

“Thanks,” Ally said, giving a small nod. “But I’m okay.”

“Alright.” There was a small pause before Ali spoke again. “Is Stevie still joining us for lunch?”

“Huh?” Ally’s eyes widened at the mention of Stevie. The name itself seemed to bring about hopelessness in Ally’s eyes, but she quickly shook it off hoping Ali didn’t realize it. “Oh, yeah. Yep. Yep, she is. That still cool with you?”

“Of course.”

            ----------

It wasn’t too long until lunch. All of Ally’s classes had seemed to fly by pretty quickly, and like yesterday, there wasn’t any real work. Stevie, Ali, and Ally had planned to meet at the front gates of the school since it was the most convenient location for them all. Although it was an open campus, which meant they would be allowed to leave during lunch to get food at nearby restaurants, the group had decided during zero period to stay at school and hang out. It _was_ the second day of school, after all, and being late wouldn’t leave a good impression on their teachers.

“Hi!” Stevie greeted as Ally walked up to her. “Ali isn’t here yet.”

“Hey, Stevie.” Ally smiled feebly, silently cursing at herself for feeling nervous and allowing stomach butterflies to perpetuate her nervousness even more. “How are you?” It was just a small question just to stay friendly, Ally tried to convince herself. But she knew it was more than that. She wanted to know all about Stevie.

“I’m a bit tired. Work was kind of tiring yesterday, but I’m glad that we at least didn’t have homework.” Stevie smiled a smile that made Ally light up.

“Where do you work?”

“You know the Westfield mall around here? And the Three Little Birds independent clothing shop in there? I work there.” Ally shook her head. “I didn’t expect you to know. It’s not too popular, but the clothes there are really nice.” Stevie grabbed the hems of her dress to show Ally. It was an ombre blue dress that went up to just above her knees.

“It _does_ look nice. I’ll definitely check it out sometimes… and maybe see you working there.”

“Are you saying you’d visit me at work?” Stevie excitedly smirked.

“Not for you. _Just_ for the dresses.”

Stevie raised her eyebrows. “You liar… I know you want to see me.”

Ally didn’t reply. She didn’t know how to, and thankfully, she didn’t have to. Ali was walking towards them. It was true, though—what Stevie had said; Ally did want to see her, but she already promised herself she wouldn’t get too close to her crush until these feelings disappeared.

“Yo, what’s up?” Ali greeted. “So where are we heading?”

“Well,” Stevie started, “I was thinking since Ally’s new here, we could take her over to the bleachers and track since it doesn’t seem like she’s seen that part of school yet.” She turned to face Ally, expecting a reply.

 “Y-yeah, I haven’t.” Ally was grateful that Stevie had thought about their lunch date and about her, albeit, a little shocked. _It’s not weird for friends to think about other friends_ , Ally reassured herself. A small sigh escaped her lips.

“Okay then, sounds good,” Ali remarked.

“That’s your zone, too.” Stevie nudged Ali in the biceps lightly. “She’s the track star here at Mira Costa. There’s no other girl more fit than her. Just look at those guns!”

Ali laughed. “You knew?”

“Of course. Everyone here knows,” Stevie remarked, impressed at Ali’s obliviousness.

“Well, with you in the spotlight all the time, I didn't even think people gave me a second glance. It’s nice to know my efforts are paying off though,” Ali smiled genuinely.

Ally couldn’t help but admit that she felt a little jealous. Stevie seemed friendly with everyone around her, not just Ally. It was another sign telling her to just give her feelings up.

“Ally? You alright?” Ali asked, giving her a small push. She noticed Stevie was gone.

“U-uh, yeah. Where’s Stevie?”

“She said she had to use the restroom, but she’d meet us at the bleachers. Are you really okay? You’ve been pretty out of it.”

“Y-yeah. I’m fine.”

Ali shook her head in disbelief. She knew something was wrong, and she knew that Ally just couldn’t get it out. It wasn’t that Ally didn’t trust her. Well, maybe it was. It a little too early to be trusting Ali with something she’s never told anyone. “You’re _not_ fine. I know it. It doesn’t take much to know you’re not doing so hot when you didn’t even notice Stevie leave.”

Ally spread her lips thin and shrugged weakly. There really wasn’t much she could say to that. She had just been too lost in her own thoughts.

Ali opened her mouth to speak again. “Okay… if we’re going to play it like this—does it have to do with anything I said yesterday?”

It technically did, but all Ally responded with was a shrug.

“Does it have to do with me? Or Stevie?” Another shrug.

“Do you not want to talk about it?”

Ally paused. That wasn’t untrue. It was so far from the truth. Ally had been wanting someone to talk to about this for a while, but it was something she was scared of saying. It would be nice to talk to anyone about, just to get it out, but she wanted to be able to trust Ali with it, too. There’s a difference—just wanting to talk about it to get it out versus telling someone because there was mutual trust between two parties. And well, Ally couldn’t say that she could trust Ali yet. But she did want to share… if only there wasn’t any fear in opening up. She shook her head.

“So you want to talk about this? But you just don’t trust me yet?” Ally nodded again. “Well, okay. At least we’re getting somewhere. I can see why you wouldn’t trust me all of a sudden, but seeing you this down is making me feel down. So, let _me_ break this ice then. You don’t have to share anything after me, and I’m not going to force you to. But I want you to trust me. So I’ll tell you that I’m gay. It’s not really a secret; pretty much everybody knows, but since we’ve only just met, I know you don’t know so there it is.”

Ally stared, half in shock, half in awe. It was a nice thing, knowing she wasn’t alone in this. “Thanks,” was all she was able to mutter. Knowing that Ali was also just like her would make it a whole lot of a hell easier to open up about the same topic, but not yet. Ally wasn’t ready. And the whole Stevie thing? Well, sometimes admitting it just makes it more real. And she didn’t want these feelings to be real—not for her sake, but for Stevie’s.

Ali smiled. “Yeah, but in your own time. Whenever you’re ready, alright?” She gave Ally a pat on the back. “I’m here for you.”

Ally smiled back, suppressing her feelings once more. _For Stevie’s sake._


	6. Flirt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last chapter I finished before deciding to post this, so updates will be slower from now on. I was waiting for the girlfriend tag to be out before I posted this because I didn't want to write the next chapter without the girlfriend tag video... I want to loosely base this story on what really happened in their relationship, which is why. But since it'll be out tomorrow, I thought, "why not just post the rest of these chapters?"
> 
> So 2 chapters in a day, yay. Thanks for reading up until this far. The story will hopefully speed up from here-- I know it's been a bit slow up until now.

Hanging out with Ally Hills at lunch made Stevie glow afterwards. She was one of those who could make Stevie smile no matter what, and her weird comments were always interesting. There was not one dull moment with Ally, not one at all.

The bell for 5th period had rang, and since Ali’s class was across the school, she had gone to class first, leaving Ally and Stevie alone.

Stevie was the one to break the comfortable silence that had fallen upon them. “I don’t have work after school today, so wanna hang out?”

A look of hesitation clouded Ally’s eyes, and Stevie wondered if she had been too forward with her question; she would not want Ally to feel at all uncomfortable. But a second later, the younger girl’s hesitation disappeared, only a beam and look of excitement left on her face. It left Stevie satisfied that she was the one that made her smile, but Stevie also wondered what it was that she had seen.

“That sounds great! Where do you want to go?”

She hadn’t thought that far; she had only hoped that Ally said yes. “Um… maybe we can hang out at my place?” Another look on hesitation came over the younger one. “I mean, if you’re okay with that, of course.” Stevie mentally cursed at herself. Maybe Ally felt uncomfortable with her; they _had_ only been friends for a couple days. If they were even friends yet, that is.

“U-uh, u-u-um…” Ally stuttered. “Y-yeah, that sounds great.”

Stevie gave Ally an unconvinced look, silently irritated at herself for moving things along too quickly. “Ally. Don’t be afraid to say no to me if you don’t want to.”

Ally shyly looked to the ground. “That’s not it. I do want to.”

“Then what is it? I can’t believe that you would want to hang out with me if you keep giving me hesitant looks whenever I ask.”

“I-I-It’s nothing. I _do_ want to be with you, though. I just can’t really explain right now.”

Stevie knew there was a reason why, but if Ally wasn’t going to say, then she wasn’t going to pry. If Ally told her that she did want to hang out with her, then the best she could do was believe her.

“Okay then,” Stevie nodded understandingly. “Well, then, my place after school?”

Ally smiled a smile that Stevie wasn’t able to tell whether it was real or forced. “That sounds great.”

“Alright. I have to pick up my brother from school right after, but I’ll be home at around 3:30 or so. I’ll text you my address?”

Ally gave a nod and brushed her hand against Stevie’s for a quick second, muttering a genuine ‘thanks’ before heading off to class. She knew right away what Ally had meant—it was a thanks for the fact that Stevie didn’t pry or look into Ally’s intentions and actions more than what she had let on. Ally meant what she had said; there was no need for further analysis. But, Stevie’s pulse tickled against her wrist, the heat of Ally’s hand lingering against hers. She had felt so at peace in that split second where her hand was in the comfort of Ally’s palm, a peace that she hadn’t felt in a long while ever since her parents were no longer with her. It was a peace that she no longer was able to find in herself. Yes, Stevie was a very straightforward person who would rather be blunt than anything, but sometimes, she was too blunt even with herself. And she knew it and that it was not healthy. The night where she had accidentally spilled food on Ally, she had gone home that day and forgotten to eat dinner; instead, she had replayed the day’s events in her head. Of course, she was glad now that they were able to meet before school had started, but at the time, she had wondered if Ally had been too annoyed to text her first.

She felt a vibration and unlocked her phone.

 **Ally Hills [12:56pm]:** Excited to know where you live finally ;) Sorry for acting so weird.

Stevie felt herself smile and replied with her address. She enjoyed the way that Ally made her feel—appreciated, cared for, and adored. But she couldn’t lie; she also felt something for Ally. Whenever they were together, she would wonder about the next time they could be together again, and every laugh that came from Ally’s mouth was music to Stevie. She felt excited and alive with the younger one, and every touch from her made her long for more. _But she’s just a friend_ , Stevie tried to convince herself. _Just a friend._

            -------

She had already texted Clay and let him know that Ally was coming over to visit. He had texted her back saying that he’d go out with friends, then, and that she wouldn’t have to pick him up. Of course, it wasn’t as if Stevie had kicked Clay out, but he knew that she didn’t have friends over often, so whomever she invited must be special to her. And knowing that, he wanted to give Stevie some time with Ally.

Ally rang the doorbell exactly at 3:30pm with a bag in her hand.

“Here’s the t-shirt you lent me the other day,” Ally said. “I washed it and everything. Thank you.”

Stevie shook her head, taking the bag and placing it down to her side. “It’s no problem. I’m the one to blame for that whole thing, anyways. But come in. My brother actually isn’t home right now since he said that he’d be with friends.” She paused a little, a mischievous grin forming on her face. “So I have you all to myself,” she added. _A friendly flirt._

“U-uh, u-um… that’s cool,” Ally replied. It was obvious to Stevie that Ally didn’t know how to reply to her _friendly_ flirting, which made her even more fun to tease.

“You know, you’re adorable,” Stevie remarked as Ally walked through the door, to which Ally started blushing. She tried to cover it up by turning her face away, but it was clear to Stevie that red was forming on her cheeks. It made Stevie feel excited—knowing that Ally Hills had reacted in such a way to her comment. “You’re blushing.”

Ally turned to face the older one and rolled her eyes. “Shut up, Steve,” she said, giving Stevie a light push.

“Steve?” It was Stevie’s turn to glare at Ally. “Stevie.”

“Steve.”

“Stevie.”

“Steve.”

“Stevie,” Stevie laughed, elbowing Ally lightly. But it caught the younger one off-guard, and she toppled over slowly, bringing Stevie down with her. Stevie let herself fall onto Ally and gasped silently as she felt her body press against Ally’s, their warmth becoming each other’s warmth. It didn’t seem to faze Ally, though—or, she didn’t seem to notice—because she continued wrestling with Stevie. She felt a leg wrap around hers and Ally try to push her into the air and realized Ally was attempting to flip them over so that she could be the one on top. The thought of that made Stevie laugh a little aloud, partly because of the innuendo that she had thought of. “There’s no way you’re flipping us.”

Ally strained to speak, already out of breath. “Just. You. See.” She pushed Stevie’s right side with her hand and leg, tipping Stevie over. A hand there, a push there, a leg there, and after much effort, Ally had gotten on top of Stevie. She gave a victory cry, a sound that was like a mix of ‘bam’ and ‘oooh!’

And just like that, Stevie was underneath Ally, her head between Ally hands as her well curved body fit like perfect puzzle pieces with against the younger girl’s. All that was in Stevie’s vision was Ally’s face. She had to admit—Ally looked beautiful. Stevie had been physically attracted to her ever since the popcorn incident, but being this close to the younger one made Stevie realize that she couldn’t control her furiously beating heart around her. As much as she tried to convince herself that it was just her being out of breath from wrestling with the girl, she knew that it wasn’t entirely true. She could try and try, but her heart would beat faster and her hands would long for Ally’s and her lips would twitch with anticipation and all that she could think about was Ally’s everything against her own. There was a part of herself falling for Ally like no other, and she had just been denying it from the start. Never in her life had she felt such a strong emotional attachment towards another, and with Ally Hills in sight, she could see nothing else. She would do anything for Ally to look at her the same.

Stevie looked into Ally’s eyes, the both of them breathing heavily. The weight of Ally’s heaving chest pressed against Stevie’s with every breath. Ally looked back into Stevie’s eyes for a moment, and Stevie had sworn she saw the same affection in Ally’s eyes before she looked away and started to push herself back up, muttering a small apology.

“Allison Hills,” Stevie whispered affectionately, just loud enough for Ally to hear and pulled Ally back down closer to her and planted a short kiss on her cheek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: So... the girlfriend tag video isn't up yet. The next chapter will most likely be out within three days of when Stally posts it ^^ (Totally looking forward to it!)


	7. Does it Mean More?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the kudos and the comments-- they are super encouraging and I appreciate them greatly!
> 
> As promised, here's the next chapter. Thanks for reading, and hope you all enjoy.

 Ally’s heart stopped. She couldn’t breathe. Or, she could, but she didn’t want to bring herself to breathe; she was scared she would wake up realizing that it was all a dream. Stevie was right in front of her—or, rather—under her, and all she wanted to do was bring Stevie in for a kiss. She wanted to feel Stevie’s soft lips on hers and press their bodies closer until there was nothing left between them. Ally’s eyes took a look at Stevie’s, a deep gaze that made Ally feel the urge to lean in, lips twitching and aching for the older one’s.

 _But she wouldn’t complicate things between them._ No, she wouldn’t. She didn’t want to do that to them.

She closed her eyes and slowly released the breath she had been holding. “What was that for?” she whispered and raised her eyebrows, half jokingly. Ally wished Stevie could ever feel that same way towards her as she did for Stevie; she would do anything for Stevie to hear her say that she liked Ally, too, but she knew that it wasn’t meant to be. After all, Stevie was straight.

Stevie shook under her as she laughed. “You’re just fun to tease.”

Ally smiled weakly, but she wasn’t surprised. She had braced herself for an answer like that, but there was a sliver of hope that she had kept in case Stevie did say what she wanted to hear. It was a useless glimmer, though, but it was hope that Ally couldn’t dare toss away. At least, not yet. Not until she asked Stevie how she felt about her. “You know it’s because you like me,” Ally teased back, giving Stevie a peck on the cheek in exchange for the one she had received.

Stevie hummed a little under Ally. “Maybe I do,” she strained as she tried to push Ally off. She was unable to, to Ally’s amusement, so the younger one got up willingly and stretched a hand out to Stevie. “And maybe I don’t.” Ally didn’t know what to make of what was just said, so she decided to let it slide for the time being. She wasn’t about to ask either and risk turning their friendly bantering into a serious conversation; she was enjoying this light flirting too much to do that.

“Lady!” Ally shouted, giving Stevie a friendly glare. “Make up your mind!”

The older one raised her eyebrows slightly up and laughed. “Maybe my mind isn’t made up, yet.”

Ally decided to brush that comment off and take it with a grain of salt. But at the same time, she was serious—she wanted Stevie to give her an answer. So she did what she could; she playfully winked at the older one. “Then let me know when you have your answer.” The younger one swore that she saw a glint of amusement in Stevie’s eyes.

“What if I told you I had an answer now?” Ally could feel her heart skip a beat at Stevie’s reply.

“Then,” Ally whispered quietly, before amplifying her voice. “Lady! I better hear it!”

Stevie recoiled a little, startled by the sudden raise in Ally’s voice but quickly composed herself again. “I swear, you’re the weirdest girl I’ve ever met,” she continued to joke along. Ally laughed, hiding her look of disappointment. Stevie hadn’t actually answered her question, but they  _were_  just playing around.  _There’s no way,_  Ally repeated to herself. _There’s no chance._

            -----------

The hangout ended up turning out to be an Orange is the New Black marathon session, and although they were just watching, Ally always had a great time around Stevie. But, she knew Stevie wasn’t interested in her. Not one bit. Not at all.  _But then,_  Ally thought to herself, _what about the kiss? Does it mean more than just friends?_  It had been on Ally’s mind ever since she had gotten home, rolling around in bed for answers. There was a part of her that just wanted to risk it all to tell Stevie since she  _had_  been girl-crushing on Ruby Rose like a lesbian while they were watching, but at the same time, who wouldn’t go gay for Ruby Rose?

Ally sighed, deciding to dismiss the confusion in her head. She needed to get over this girl, fast.

            ------------

Sweat and alcohol immediately overwhelmed Ally the moment she stepped into the club. She had been able to get in with a fake ID, and her mom had always been really lenient about her and her sister going out in the middle of the night as long as they were safe. Although she knew that alcohol was never the solution, Ally just needed to get her mind off of Stevie and move on and pretend that she never had feelings for her.

The dim lighting of the bar and the sheer number of people there at this time made it hard to walk, especially for clumsy, accident-prone Ally. She slowly pushed her way through, but stopped shocked when she found a hand reach for hers. Her eyes glanced up slowly, silently wishing to see the face that she had been so mesmerized by for the last few days. Instead, a stranger Ally had never seen before stood in front of her.

“Hey,” the girl said. Her free hand started curling the end of her mid-length, dark blonde hair. The blond made eye contact with Ally, a not-so-subtle grin resting on her face. “I’m so sorry to bother you. The club owner just wanted me to come over here and let you know that this is actually a no-smoking section.”

Ally gave the girl a confused look, opening her mouth slightly to speak. She hadn’t been smoking. “I—”

The blonde cut Ally off mid-speech. “Because you are smoking hot!” she finished, with a glint of playfulness in her eyes. She looked expectantly at Ally, waiting for a response; instead, all Ally could do was break out into laughter. The cheesy pick-up line she had used had been one Ally had thought of years back, so as long as the girl had said it with the same humor sense as Ally, she thought that this would be the perfect distraction.

She gave the blonde a judging glare and raised her eyebrows. “Did you really just use that on me?”

“Pretty good, isn’t it?” Both girls laughed as Ally shook her head. The blonde noticed she hadn’t let go of Ally’s hand, and finally, let go. “I’m Arielle.”

“Ally.”

“Ally…” The blonde let the name sink in. “That’s a pretty name. Are you here alone? Can I buy you a drink?”

Was this girl flirting with her? Well, after the pick-up line, Ally knew that that was a pretty useless question to ask herself. Ally found herself enjoying her time with Arielle, but the thought of Stevie still crossed her mind every now and then. And each time she thought of her, she would take another shot in order to forget. Arielle had been good company, though. She was funny, witty, and sarcastic, but she also had a side to her that was just as caring. They had talked and laughed the night away, and Ally wondered that maybe finding another girl was the solution to the pickle she was in. The only problem with that was, Ally was still closeted… and finding a girl at school, well, that wouldn’t be too smart of a plan.

Ally’s eyes widened suddenly at that thought, quickly apologizing to Arielle and grabbing her things. She still had school tomorrow, and heading off to school hung-over was nowhere on her bucket list. “I’m so sorry, but I have to leave now.” Ally stumbled her way through the club towards the entrance, but as she was about to leave, Arielle caught up to her.

“Wait, Ally!” she called out. “I think you forgot something in there.” Ally saw the same mischievous look on Arielle’s face as the one she had met the blonde with. “My number.”

Ally laughed and shook her head. “That was another good one.” She gave Ally a wink and handed her a piece of paper, before suddenly looking down nervously a little.

“Um… so… can I ask what are you… Like,” she moved her hands wildly at an attempt to convey her words to Ally. “Like… what are you into?”

“I’m gay.”

The blonde’s eyes lit up. “Then, would you be mad if I kissed you?”

Maybe it was the alcohol. Or maybe it was the perfect distraction. Or maybe, Ally just missed the touch. “No,” Ally replied. “No, I would not.” And in an instant, she found a pair of lips upon hers. It was a light kiss, a kiss that was in a way, playful. But Ally couldn’t lie; the moment Arielle’s lips touched her, she had instantly thought of Stevie. Stevie’s lips upon hers, Stevie’s arms around her neck, Stevie’s body pressed up against her own…. and before she closed her eyes to fully reciprocate the kiss, Ally swore she had saw Stevie’s figure scrambling past her out of the club.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for not having anymore Stally in this chapter, but this was the only way in which I would be satisfied with the story plot. Stally scenes will be coming up in about 3-4 chapters though!
> 
> (The pick up lines are actual pick up lines from one of Ally's old videos)


	8. You Like Her, Don't You?

Stevie laid restlessly on her bed. It was 3AM, but after what she had seen, Stevie couldn’t stop thinking. Ally had been kissing another girl. Did that mean that she was gay? And that she had a girlfriend?

It was all speculation, but Stevie knew that she couldn’t ask. Ally might not even know Stevie had seen them, and she sure as hell wouldn’t bring it up until Ally was ready to talk about it. But even still, her being gay with a girlfriend gave Stevie a better chance than if Ally was straight. It gave Stevie a chance that wasn’t zero.

            ----------

The school bustled with people scrambling to find their friends in the morning. Stevie strolled down the halls with extra make-up on to cover up for the loss of sleep the night before, on the look-out for Shannon and Cammie. Other than when they were forced to leave each other for classes, it was impossible to find one girl without the other.

“Stevie!” they shouted simultaneously out to her. Cammie walked over and reached in for a hug, followed by her girlfriend. “So what is it you have to tell us?” The night before, Stevie had sent them a text telling them she had to ask them for advice. Of course, it was advice about Ally, but she didn’t give them any details over text.

Stevie took a small breath of air. “Have you guys seen the new girl around? Allison Hills?” She hoped that they had so she wouldn’t have to go through the effort of pointing her out. Especially not after yesterday. Especially since Stevie didn’t know how to approach Ally right now.

Shannon nodded, voicing a simultaneous “yep,” prompting Stevie to continue. She told the couple all about Ally and how they met, meeting her at Mira Costa again, the hangout, and finally, the club. They had listened well and didn’t interrupt much, except to ask for more details. But Stevie had left out the part where she liked Ally; she had made it seem like all she wanted to do was help a closeted girl become more comfortable with herself.

“Mmm, well…” Cammie said. “How do you feel after seeing the kiss?”

Stevie reached her hands to her neck to part her hair across her shoulders. “I’m not too sure. Do you think that was her girlfriend?”

“Okay, well,” Cammie started.

“Considering how late it was at that time, I would say that it could’ve been a drunken hook-up,” Shannon finished for Cammie.

Cammie continued. “I mean, we can’t say for sure, but one kiss doesn’t mean too much, you know?”

Stevie smiled and nodded. They did make a strong point, and Stevie _had_ seen Ally down shot after shot yesterday night. It would make sense that she wasn’t completely sober. At the same time, if she hadn’t been sober, then she could’ve settled for anyone who came her way. A couple drinks without water and before she knew it, she would see people who couldn’t even so much as walk straight—or, stay straight for the night. “Alright. I guess I can’t jump to any conclusions until I find out who she is, then.”

“Yeah, of course. Why ask about this, though?” Cammie asked.

The older girl stopped. “I-I…” she stumbled, trying to find an excuse. Saying it only made it more real, and Stevie didn’t know if she wanted this to be real yet.

Shannon smiled understandingly. “Stevie. How long do you think we’ve known you? You like her, don’t you?”

A subtle, small grin came over Stevie and a wave of relief flooded her. At least she didn’t have to out-rightly admit it. The more she voiced her crush, the harder it would be to let go when she really needed to. She nodded, letting her gestures speak for her, instead. “I mean, have you seen her? She’s gorgeous.” Confidence lighted up her face.

The same grin that covered over Stevie filled Cammie’s face, and she gave a nudge to Shannon, who seemed to understand her secret message. She kissed Cammie on the forehead briefly. “So we’re holding this house party on Friday night, and you _need_ to be there.” She paused, deliberately, and broke out into a wide smile. “With Ally. You better invite her, Boebi.” Stevie stood shocked for a second, slightly surprised by their forward invitation. It didn’t faze her though; in fact, she was looking forward to inviting Ally Hills to this party. Cammie and Shannon were right—she couldn’t start worrying until she knew for sure.

“And you better be picking her up if she’s coming,” Cammie added.

Stevie’s eyes widened. “Then wouldn’t that be more of a…”

“A date!” the couple finished for her.

She shook her head. “I don’t even know who the girl with Ally was. But alright, it can be a secret date to the three of us,” Stevie sighed light-heartedly as the first bell to zero period rang. “Thanks, Shan, Cammie. I’ll see you guys at lunch.”

Zero period meant Ally Hills. And Ally Hills meant a possibly awkward conversation. If she had seen Stevie, of course. And, more importantly, Ally Hills meant a date asking. The older one walked into the classroom and sat herself down. She didn’t feel nervous at all about asking Ally even after what she saw yesterday. In her mind, she’d already decided that she would pretend that nothing happened. It was her way of coping with it and avoiding awkward situations—she didn’t go out to the club yesterday or drink alcohol or see Ally kissing another girl or run past her in confusion or feel a slight spark of jealously that disappeared right away or lay in bed at night thinking about her. No, it was all a lie. Yesterday night had never happened.

Stevie waited until the second bell to ring but realized that Ally’s seat stayed empty. She stared a little into open space, letting her mind wander and worry about the younger girl. Knowing that she had had quite a bit of alcohol the other night, she hoped that Ally wasn’t feeling too hung-over… if anything, Stevie shook her head in disbelief that Ally would allow herself to lose control the way she did knowing that she had school the next day. Nonetheless, she was still worried and decided to send Ally a quick text.

 **Stevie Boebi [7:30am]:** You alright? I don’t see you in class…

She wouldn’t be getting a reply anytime soon. If she had been out so late with a hangover, she was going to wake up way later in the day. And if she had… decided to sleep with who-ever she was with and stayed up later… then she would be knocked out for even longer.

That didn’t stop Stevie from trying to find Ally during snack and lunch, though. She still hadn’t received a text, but she wanted to see the other girl and make sure she was okay. It was hard though—now that all the freshmen were starting to get accustomed to the school and all it had to offer, they started to learn about one of Mira Costa’s most famous—Stevie Boebi. And that meant, the majority of lunch, she couldn’t walk more than ten steps without being stopped by an underclassmen trying to strike up a conversation with her. Of course she didn’t mind though—in fact, Stevie loved talking to people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds. But she really wanted to try to find Ally, too, with the slight possibility that Ally could’ve decided to attend school later in the day.

            -----------

A soft notification tone came from Stevie’s phone right as school ended. She took out her phone to check it, her heart dropping slightly.

 **Ally Hills [2:55pm]:** I tyred… just woke up lol

Stevie hoped that her tiredness was just from her being out so late yesterday and that her head was splitting open. And that she had woken up in her own bed to the company of just herself. Of course, she couldn’t have asked that, though. But it made Stevie see. As much as she would try to tell herself that yesterday never happened, she knew that she couldn’t forget the kiss. She could never forget seeing Ally’s lips upon someone else’s.

 **Stevie Boebi [2:56pm]:** It’s the 3rd day of school! Tired already?

 **Ally Hills [2:57pm]:** Woman! Being social is a chore.

Stevie laughed at that. It seemed like Ally was okay if she was able to make jokes.

 **Stevie Boebi [2:57pm]:** Mind being social for an extra night? My friends are throwing a party Friday night. Come plaaaaay with me!

 **Ally Hills [2:58pm]:** Sure! That sounds fun.

Stevie smiled, jittery inside. She was partly nervous because she still didn’t know who the blond was, but at the same time, she was glad Ally accepted her invitation.

 **Stevie Boebi [3:00pm]:** I’ll pick you up at 8. It’s a date then!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm aware nothing really happens in this chapter-- it's mostly just setting up for the next few chapters. So the next update should be pretty quick to make up for that! I'm already halfway through the next chapter, anyways ^^
> 
> As always, thank you so much for reading and for the comments and kudos!
> 
> If you want to contact me for any suggestions, constructive criticism (which would be really nice, actually), or just to talk (I love meeting new people!!), my email is maplesdonut@gmail.com.


	9. A Slight Chance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!

Ally’s eyes slowly squinted open, her hands immediately reaching for her head. She took her beanie off slowly, wiped at her sweat, and winced at the pain. The day before, she knew she had had one too many drinks, leaving her only with memories of a kiss, Stevie, and an axe-murderer headache… which defeated the purpose of drinking in the first place. The whole reason for the trip to the club was an attempt to drown Stevie in her memories, but, well, after seeing the older girl run past her during the kiss, all she hoped was that she hadn’t ruin the little chance she had with Stevie. She _knew_ that that was Stevie, and she knew that she had seen her kissing another girl, and she knew that no matter what, she could trust Stevie not to out her out. But if Stevie wasn’t going to mention it, then neither was she. Ally knew she was the type to think too much about situations, but maybe her headache was a blessing in disguise. It kept her from thinking and worrying too much about the unintentional run-in with Stevie. Rubbing her temples and closing her eyes again, she tried to sooth the pain, to no avail.

She hoisted herself up to a sitting position, her head throbbing and stomach churning as she felt yesterday’s dinner slowly rising up her esophagus. But it wasn’t _all_ because she was hung-over—no. It was because she realized just now that she had woken up to the scent of sweat, alcohol, a bed that wasn’t her own, a text from Stevie, and a slew of texts from her mother. Ally hadn’t returned home yesterday. Instead, she had followed Arielle to her house, and she had no recollection of how she got there and what had happened afterwards. Arielle was nowhere to be found, though, the only sound blaring in Ally’s sensitive head being the crashing pitter-patter of the showers. Other than that, the house or apartment or wherever Ally had slept at, was completely silent.

Ally sent her mom a quick text to let her know that she was okay and replied letting Stevie know that she just woke up, but Ally really didn’t know what to think of the whole situation. She had never had a one-night stand before and never planned on it, and if she had had one yesterday night, she wouldn’t know how she would let it settle with her. Just because she wanted to forget Stevie didn’t mean that she would have had meaningless sex in order to do that. A sliver of guilt and worry and anxiety started to cloud her mind and grow, but she quickly repressed it as she heard the bathroom door open.

Arielle walked out and greeted Ally. “You’re finally awake.”

Not wanting to waste any time, Ally cut straight to the chase. “Arielle… w-we didn’t… n-n-nothing really… did we do anything yesterday?”

Ally heard a small chuckle in response. “Maybe you shouldn’t get so drunk next time if you don’t want anything to happen.” Ally’s heart sank at those words, and guilt started to fill her. “But no, nothing happened.”

Arielle was met with a confused stare and a relieved sigh. “So we didn’t?”

“No,” Arielle said in slight disgust, with a playful tone. “Look, you’re cute so as much as I would’ve liked to—one, you’re underage. I saw your _real_ ID in your bag,” she explained. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t ever want to be known to my friends as a pedophile. And two, you were drunk. I would never take advantage of someone who didn’t have the brain capacity to say no if they didn’t want to.”

“Why am I here, then?”

“I wasn’t going to let you drive with so much alcohol in your system.” Ally nodded slightly before it dawned upon her again that she was still hung-over and nauseous. She thanked Arielle for letting her stay the night, and the blond threw her a clean towel. “Take a cold shower and get yourself cleaned up a bit. It might help. I left some clothes for you that I think you’ll fit in inside.”

Ally thanked Arielle and walked into the bathroom. She quickly texted Stevie back, smiling as she accepted her party proposal, then proceeded to survey her surroundings. A pile of clothes was waiting on the granite counter-top for her. From the looks of it, Ally could assume that Arielle was pretty well off. The bathroom itself was a decent size with the well-managed and frequently cleaned sink and toilet on the same side of the wall. Perpendicular to the sink-toilet alignment at the end of the room sat the showers encased in a glass wall and a marble out casing. The shower was well adorned and looked big enough to comfortably fit three people. She undressed herself, and stepped in, allowing the cold water to trickle down her body and relieve the throb she felt banging against her head with every move.

            -------

The cold shower did help, as did the glass of orange juice Ally found outside for her on the counter-top when she walked out of the bathroom. She took a seat on the bed again and quietly sipped at her juice, smiling again when she checked her phone to see that she’d received a text from Stevie. She was going to pick her up, which, technically made it a date, didn’t it? Her heart turned happily as she let the thought of an unofficial date with Stevie sink in.

“What’s gotten you so smiley?” Arielle interrupted, walking into the door with a small bag. She handed it to Ally. “You can put your clothes in here. Text from a special someone?”

Ally looked to the floor shyly. “There’s… someone I’d like to get to know. But she’s pretty straight, I think.”

“You think? You obviously don’t know that for sure.” Arielle paused for a little, a comfortable silence falling upon them as she stared into Ally’s eyes. Suddenly, she laughed. “So I was just a distraction yesterday, wasn’t I?” Ally stopped for a moment, Arielle’s words sinking in and opened her mouth in surprise. How did she know? She felt the palms of her hands become sweaty with nervousness at her own rudeness and wanted to apologize, but the words weren’t coming out. Her mouth hung open for a second before Arielle spoke again. “You’re not very subtle. But come on, it’s getting late. I’ll give you a ride back to the bar so you can drive yourself home.”

            ---------

Ally unlocked her phone, reading a reply from Arielle. Ever since Ally had stayed the night there, they had been exchanging texts back and forth. Arielle had Ally’s humor, and she had learned that Arielle was a youtuber. Meanwhile, Ally had explained her whole situation with Stevie to her. She quickly replied, updating her on what she was going to wear for her first unofficial date with Stevie—she had decided upon a black low cut tank top and a pair of black jeans topped with, of course, a snapback. It was a casual outfit, but one that well-complemented Ally’s curves and body. Her phone vibrated with a call from Stevie. Slightly nervous, she picked it up, her heart racing at the sound of Stevie’s voice.

“Hey Ally! I’m right outside your place.” Ally smiled to herself, a wide grin as she tilted her head down and closed her eyes and allowed Stevie’s voice to sink in and thought to herself how content she was with just her and Stevie. Ever since meeting Arielle and the failed distraction, Arielle had pushed Ally to not give up on Stevie until she was sure of her sexuality. And so, Ally let all her suppressed feelings loose. All the care and adoration and happiness and joy and sense of security and sense of protection while she was with Stevie—she decided that she would no longer hide.

A smile was still bright on Ally’s face. “I’ll be right there!” she said, before hanging up. She grabbed her bag and stormed down the stairs, doing a little victory dance at the front door before she stepped out into the brisk, cold air. The stars illuminated the night sky perfectly, and the chill of the twilight only allowed Ally to feel the warmth that spread throughout her body even more so as she was immediately greeted with Stevie’s face in front of her. Their eyes met briefly before Ally forced herself to look away from Stevie’s face, not wanting to stare too long and give herself away. Her eyes made her way to Stevie’s simple, flowing, mid-thigh white dress and gray cardigan.

 _She looks beautiful,_ Ally thought, looking at her smiling face once more and wishing that she could be the one to kiss Stevie to make her smile all the more.

“Hey,” Stevie chuckled. She took a long glance at Ally’s outfit, and, taking off her own cardigan, placed it on Ally’s shoulders. “You look really nice.”

“T-thanks, Stevie,” she said, gesturing awkwardly at the cardigan. I could say the same about you. You look...” Ally paused, not knowing what word to say next. Beautiful would be too much considering they were just friends, but Stevie had already said nice. Breathtaking and stunning were the perfect words to describe how Ally felt, but they were words that could be considered over the ‘friends’ lines, too. She settled with the same word. “…nice, as well.”

The corners of Stevie’s mouth tugged up even more, and Ally wondered if her cheeks hurt from all that smiling. But Ally had the same look on her face, a smile that also grew bigger every time she saw Stevie’s. The older one reached out and brushed her fingers on Ally’s and hooked her fingertips with Ally’s for a split second before she walked down the stairs of the porch. Stevie looked behind her shoulder at Ally. “Let’s go,” she said enthusiastically, and Ally followed. The gentle touch had tempted Ally to grab ahold of Stevie’s hand. She wanted to feel her own warmth against Stevie’s and let everyone know that she was hers, but she wasn’t. Not yet. Maybe not ever. But she had a chance, a slight chance. And she wasn’t going to let it go.


	10. Another Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> A couple things--  
> 1) I realized that I made this fic rated G so ever since chapter 1, I've been trying to cut back on the swear words. I hope that this can still be rated G, but it might suddenly become rated T if I realize I can't write the next few chapters without cussing.  
> 2) Motivation to write had been at a really low point lately, so updates might get slower.   
> 3) Thank you so much for the comments and kudos and showing interest in this though. It makes me really happy and is the driving force in what propels me to continue writing.  
> 4) As usual, thank you so much for reading and sticking with me on this up til this far!

Stevie’s hand gripped the wheel, her other hand holding onto the gearshift. She kept it there, hoping that Ally would put her hand upon her own, but inside, she knew that even if Ally did like her, she wasn’t that forward.

The song, Girls/Girls/Boys by P!ATD resounded off the walls of the car. Ally started dancing to it in her seat and screaming at the top of her lungs; her screaming was still perfectly on tune, though, and Stevie thought that she sounded amazing. Her dancing, on the other hand… it looked like a fish flailing out of the water, and her hands were moving un-synchronically with the rest of her motions but it was a dance that made Stevie laugh and a dance that made Ally look all the more cuter. Adorably and beautifully and wonderfully cute and it made Stevie want to grab Ally by the hands and twirl her into her arms until there was nothing left in-between them except lust, passion, and adoration.

In her random dancing, Ally touched Stevie’s hand briefly, and Stevie’s heart jumped and butterflies spread throughout her entirety. Right away, she decided to quickly grab Ally’s hand and place it on the gearshift with her hand on top. The younger one immediately stiffened up, the dancing stopping completely. Ally placed her free hand on her own legs, eyes looking straight towards the road as if she was completely paralyzed. There was nothing but Ally’s deep breathing and the continuing song playing in the background, and Stevie wondered if what she did was too forward. Stevie was never very good at being subtle—she told it as it was. And if she liked someone, she wanted them to know. Ally was just a little different, though, because with Ally, she wanted things to be perfect. This was the first time she thought about saying the wrong words or being too forward with her actions or acting too much on impulse and not thinking things through. Stevie’s voice hitched in her throat, and she felt her pulse bang against her head as words were unspoken and as she became more aware of every twitching muscle of Ally’s underneath her hand. Stevie squeezed Ally’s hand gently, trying to convey to her that she didn’t have to be nervous and that she could let go if it was making her uncomfortable. She felt the hand under her relax slightly and pull away from her. For a brief second, Stevie was disappointed and worried that Ally had pulled back from her, from everything. But Ally reached in again, and Stevie felt Ally’s touch on her once more as her fingers intertwined with the younger girl’s.

The whole time, Stevie noticed that Ally kept her eyes on the road, not daring to look into Stevie’s eyes. No matter how much Stevie wanted her to look so that she could convey how much she cared for Ally not with words, but with actions, she could sense the nervousness in Ally. Her hand had been shaking when she intertwined her fingers with Stevie’s and was Stevie could still feel slight tremors vibrating underneath. She brought the hand up to her lips and placed a gentle kiss on it in an attempt to ease Ally’s nervousness. Stevie closed her eyes briefly to take in the sweet smell of Ally’s perfume lingering on her hands. She heard Ally gasp as her lips made contact with the younger girl’s smooth, bare skin, and she smiled into Ally’s hand and kissed it again.

“Your dancing is adorable,” Stevie whispered in a tone that was just a little louder than the music, not daring to let go. Her eyes made their way towards Ally’s eyes and met them with a gentleness and care that she hadn’t felt for another in so long. “I love it,” she grinned.

Ally responded by looking shyly away. “You are such a flirt,” Ally sighed under her breath. She took their entangled hands and placed it on her lap, resting her free hand on it.

“You know you love it,” Stevie joked. Ally said nothing, responding with just a smile.

            ----------

“Stevie!” Shannon shouted above the music. Stevie pulled the girl in for a hug. She introduced Shannon to Ally, who had walked into Shannon and Cammie’s house party with her. They had reluctantly let go of each other’s hands the moment Stevie parked the car. It had lead to an awkward silence and more of Ally’s quietness, but both girls left the car with nothing but smiles all around.

“Shannon and her girlfriend, Cammie, are two of my closest friends,” Stevie explained.

Shannon nodded. “Stevie’s told us a lot about you, Ally,” she added, a sly grin forming on her face. Ally raised an eyebrow and gave Stevie a curious look.

The older one mentally cursed in her head and jokingly cursed aloud at her friend. “I _do_ aid for your class so of course I would be talking about you, right?” she told Ally. It wasn’t the truth, of course, but Stevie didn’t know how far to take their light flirting. She had no idea what Ally had thought of the whole situation in the car—whether it was just two friends flirting or if it could be something more than that.

Shannon laughed at Stevie’s response. “I gotta go find Cammie, so I’ll talk to you later, alright? Loosen up a little!” she said, shaking her hands and shoulders playfully before walking off.

The party itself was small, amounting to around fifteen people including the hosts and Ally and Stevie. Shannon and Cammie hadn’t considered many people friends after all the bullying they had gone through when they came out, but the few that they did trust—well, they trusted these people with their lives. The people who had been invited to the party consisted of a majority of both their closest friends, all of whom Stevie was well acquainted with. She watched as Ally left and grabbed a beer, juggling between conversing with people and texting on her phone. Stevie had already decided that she wouldn’t drink tonight when she had told Ally that she’d pick her up.

It might’ve been the alcohol’s effects, but Stevie noticed that Ally didn’t have trouble talking to anyone within the group. Well, Ally never had trouble making conversation, it seemed, but with Stevie, she would stumble over words or stutter a little or grow extremely shy in a matter of seconds. With others, though, she was quiet sometimes, yes, but nervousness never seemed to take over to the point of her stumbling over words, and Stevie smiled as she let herself believe that she could be that special one who made Ally nervous but happy.

The night passed quickly, and with every hour, the level of chaos and impulsive behavior grew. It made Stevie laugh—watching her friends starting to lose control, and she couldn’t help but record some of it on her phone to show them later. There was one thing that bothered the older one, though. Ally was constantly on her phone texting throughout the night, and every time she took a look at the device, a smile would creep upon her face. Stevie assumed that it could be one of two people—Ali Spags or the girl that Ally had kissed from the club the other day. Other than those two, Stevie didn’t know who else Ally contacted outside of school. A couple more minutes passed with Stevie slowly sipping at her juice before Ally walked up to her and asked if she could have a ride home. The younger one was clearly buzzed, but Stevie knew it wasn’t as bad as the other day at the club.

“Here,” Stevie said, handing Ally a cup of water. “Drink this first. Then I’ll take you home.”

“But Steveeeeee,” Ally whined, pouting a little for the older one. Stevie did the best she could to repress a smile and maintain a stern face.

She firmly held the cup in front of Ally. “Or no ride,” she stated.

Ally obliged and gulped down the cup of water, and Stevie kissed the younger one on her temples. The younger one was still able to blush at this and reverted back into her shy persona once more. “Alright, let’s go,” Stevie nodded, grabbing Ally by the hand.

            ----------

The ride back was a quiet one, the only sound being Stevie’s steady breathing contrasted with Ally’s quick beer breaths accompanied with quiet music playing in the background. Ally leaned peacefully against the window of Stevie’s car, eyes closed. Stevie looked over, wondering if she was sleeping, and thought to herself how vulnerable the girl she had fallen for so deeply looked. She could just as easily just lean over and place a kiss on Ally’s lips and finally close the distance between them that she had wanted to close for so long.

“Ally? You awake?” Stevie said, barely above a whisper.

She was met with silence for a couple seconds, before receiving a reply. “Stevie…” Ally murmured.

“Yeah?”

“You’re beautiful.”

Stevie felt her heart swell as she heard those words. There was nothing more she wanted to do than to pull over and bring Ally in and plant kisses everywhere Ally would allow. To know that Ally thought that she looked beautiful—well, happy was an understatement. She turned to look at the calm face that had captivated her since the first day they had met—she looked at Ally’s flawless eyebrows, Ally’s fiery but gentle eyes that seduced her so securely, her perfectly shaped nose, the soft lips that Stevie wanted nothing more than to kiss and feel upon her. The more she gazed at Ally, the more entranced Stevie was at her beauty. “You are so beautiful,” Stevie whispered back.

Stevie let those words sink in the rest of the car ride back. There was so much more she wanted to say, but she knew that now was not the time nor place to say any of it. And so she waited, storing up all her feelings and words of adoration and care and love inside of her in order to express it all to Ally some other time. At a more appropriate time.

Upon reaching Ally’s house, Stevie pulled up into the driveway. She gently shook Ally to wake her up. The younger one slowly opened her eyes and smiled at Stevie, before becoming startled by a sudden tap on the window. Stevie rolled the windows down see a girl standing there with blond hair. She looked familiar to Stevie… and she reached over to hand Ally a beanie.

“Thanks for letting me drop by,” the blond smiled. “You forgot this at my house that other night.” She paused, sniffing the air around Ally. “You, Allison Hills, are clearly drunk. I’ll walk you in,” she sighed, helping Ally out of the car. She turned to Stevie and expressed her thanks, introducing herself as Arielle.

“Stevie,” she said back.

“I _know_ who you are,” Arielle said with a wink. Before Stevie had any time to ask what she meant, Ally muttered a small ‘thanks’ to Stevie before stumbling out of the car to be carried by the blond.

Stevie watched as the two entered the house, Ally’s arms around Arielle’s neck.

 _Arielle,_ she thought, letting the name sink in. _Arielle._

And then she remembered. That face. That was the blond that Ally had been kissing at the club. Ally had asked Stevie to drive her back so that she could meet with Arielle. And Arielle had come to drop off a beanie because of _the other night_ , walking Ally into her home. Then that meant that that day, Ally _had_ stayed the night, waking up to Arielle’s arms wrapped around hers and the intimacy that Stevie wanted to feel with Ally.

A sudden surge of betrayal struck Stevie. What had happened to the words that Ally had told her before—that she thought Stevie was beautiful—if she had planned to meet up with another girl right afterwards?


	11. Bandage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for all the encouragements and nice comments <3 It really brightens my day seeing each comment and knowing that you guys are having fun reading this just as much as I am writing this!
> 
> That being said, I'm going through a bit of a rough patch in life right now. I'll try to update within a week or two, but please be patient with the next chapter (I am so sorry for leaving it where I did though... poor planning on my part, oops...).
> 
> Thanks for understanding, and thank you for reading!

Ally had woken up the next day with fragments of her memory stolen from her by alcohol. She remembered the car ride and the hand-holding, the warmth of Stevie’s hand against hers and the smile that she couldn’t wipe away even if she tried. She remembered the texts she exchanged with Arielle, asking her for advice about what to do and filling her in on all the little touches she and Stevie had exchanged. She remembered the small kiss Stevie placed on her temple and how she just wanted to kiss Stevie back in exchange when she asked for a ride back home because she was drunk and wanted to leave like she always did when she was drunk. Leave the premises. After that, though, she couldn’t remember anything. And she wondered if she had done something wrong because Stevie hadn’t replied to any of Ally’s text messages.

Arielle had updated her on everything she could—when Stevie had driven Ally home, she had been at Ally’s door because Ally had texted her ahead of time letting her know around what time she would be back. Arielle had timed it pretty much perfectly, and both cars had arrived simultaneously. There wasn’t much to explain after that; Arielle introduced herself to Ally, escorted the buzzed Ally into the house while Stevie drove off, and explained the situation to Ally’s mom. She had taken it all really well, mainly since Arielle explained it so well, making sure to include that the person who drove Ally home had absolutely no alcohol that night and that Ally drank with friends that she could trust. Her mom had been understanding, going as far as to place a glass of water on Ally’s nightstand for when she woke up.

She had texted Stevie with three texts; the first, a thank you text for dropping her off and for choosing not to drink just for Ally, the second was a text apologizing for anything she had done because she was a little too tipsy to remember, and the third, a text asking if Stevie maybe wanted to hang out next weekend. They both knew that starting this week, the workload at school would increase since all the introductions would be over, and even though Ally didn’t care exactly too much about it, she knew that Stevie would already have a tough time balancing work and school. But Stevie hadn’t replied to any of her texts. And it was already Monday morning again.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to remind herself that she had nothing to worry about, but an angsty teenage mind had plans against that. She was worried—Ally knew that when she got drunk, she could say some things that she hadn’t ever meant to say, including, confessing to Stevie. Maybe she had. Maybe she just couldn’t remember. Or maybe she had done something that completely scared her off like kissing her. Whatever it might have been, Ally needed to express these worries to someone.

            ----------

Ally sat on a small bench on school campus, Ali by her side. It was an hour before school started, but she and Ali had planned to meet up to talk. The fact that Ali was lesbian, too, made it much easier to talk to her about this situation she was in, and the fact that she didn’t know any other lesbians her age made Ali the only option.

She took a deep breath, heart pounding and head spinning and anxiety building. She just needed to say two words. Two words, and it would be over with. Two words, and the worst of it would be over. It wasn't that she was scared about what Ali would think. Of course Ali would be totally supportive of it. It was the fact that she’s never explicitly stated before, of course, without the influence of alcohol. And that’s what made it scary. She took in another gulp of air and closed her eyes. It would be ripping a bandage off. Real quick. Just right off. Her heart raced in her chest, a thump-thump that she swore Ali could hear, and she gave herself a little countdown. _Three. Two. One._ “I’m gay,” she breathed out. She threw her hands up a little and closed her eyes and leaned back against the bench in a sense of relief. It was finally out, and it felt good.

Ali smiled and nodded, knowingly, giving Ally a pat on the back. “I’m proud of you.”

There was a brief silence as Ally looked at the other expectantly. A silence took over, and Ally laughed awkwardly. “That's it? No ‘how did you know?’ or ‘when did you know?’ or ‘what made you find out?’”

“I don’t…” Ali paused, trying to find her words. She closed her mouth once. Re-opened it. Closed it again. And finally spoke once more, “… think it’s necessary.” She gave Ally a look that said it all. “I mean, you should just carry a mirror around and look at your own face whenever you see Stevie. The way you look at that girl,” she elaborated, giving a small, quiet whistle.

“That obvious?”

Ali raised her eyebrows at Ally and gave her a slow, sarcastic nod. “Why did you decide to tell me this all of a sudden?” Ali asked, bringing a sigh to Ally’s lips.

She explained everything. There wasn’t much to tell, or, Ally thought that time just seemed to slow while she explained. It was like a middle school crush again—innocent, light, and flirty. There was nothing more between her and Stevie than cheek kisses and hand-holding and platonic touches, but she wished there was more. There was a sense of nervousness around Stevie that Ally didn’t feel with anyone but her.

“Well, you should just tell her,” Ali said blatantly. “She seems to like you, too.”

“But she’s straight,” Ally retorted.

“She’s been with guys. For a night. But she’s never _been_ with guys. I think it’s worth a shot telling her.”

“You really think so?” Ally asked.

“Ally. Friends don’t go around holding their friend’s hand in the car. Either she likes you, or,” Ali paused, changing her accent for emphasis, “she liiikes you. You should just get it cleared up today because it’s obviously been bringing you down a lot.”

            --------

Ally sat patiently in class, listening to her zero period teacher give a lecture. She had been dozing off a little, trying her hardest to keep awake, but an emotional talk like the one she had with Ali that morning had drained her a little.

The school’s personal alarm for students sounded, and Ally woke to the sound of the shuffling of papers and backpack zippers. She quickly tossed her things into her bag and rushed to the door, grabbing Stevie’s wrists to stop her.

“Stevie,” she breathed quietly. “I… need to talk to you. Are you free at lunch?”

The older one seemed a little agitated, giving Ally a stoic look. “Sure. Lunch sounds great, but make it quick.”

“Great,” Ally sighed. Blood rushed to her head, adrenaline immediately waking her up. She was never a confrontational person, and asking to talk just made it worse. But this was something she had to do. “I-I just need to tell you something.”


	12. Pizza

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took such a long time... thanks for understanding and waiting for this. I'm still going through some things though so the next chapter might take a while, too. I'll try to get it out faster than this one, though!
> 
> Thanks for reading and sticking with me up until now <3
> 
> Contact me at maplesdonut@gmail.com if you have suggestions or just want to talk!! I love meeting new people!

Stevie took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She had no idea what Ally was going to talk to her about, but whatever it was, she didn’t exactly want to hear it. All weekend, she had tried her hardest to give herself space from the younger girl to figure out her own feelings—she knew that she still liked Ally, but the question now was whether or not Ally liked her. Things between them had been going so well, too, but after what had happened on Friday, she wasn’t sure what to think anymore. It had been a constant battle in her head from Ally being a player to a drunken hook-up to nothing more than a simple misunderstanding, and she didn’t know what to think. All she knew what that she was going to try to forget about it all. Again. Once again, she found herself in the same spot as where she started, trying her hardest to not fall for Ally.

Ally had texted her after zero period with a meeting spot, a small, secluded area in the corner of the school. There was literally nothing there except for a blue painted bench that sat in the corner. It was someplace that no one really visited because no one really knew it existed, and Stevie started to wonder what it was that Ally wanted to talk about if she had asked to meet in such a private place. Either way, Stevie couldn’t help but feel like a mess. She didn’t want to talk to Ally right now; she didn’t want to feel hurt or betrayed by Ally like what she had felt on Friday night. Knowing that Ally had slept with another girl after seemingly being so upfront with her and holding her hand and calling her beautiful seemed like nothing more than a ploy to Stevie.

She watched as the younger girl strolled into the area, her figure as beautiful as always. There was something about her that seemed to always throw Stevie into a trance-like state, something that she could never control. But today, she was sober from Ally’s seductive spell. She was trying to keep a hold of herself, of her consciousness, to avoid hurting herself.

“Make it quick, alright? What did you want to talk about?”

Ally let out a breath of air. “Stevie. What’s wrong? You didn’t reply to my texts this weekend. Did I do something wrong?”

Stevie spoke truthfully. “I don’t feel like I’m obligated to reply to your every text.”

A look of hurt spread across Ally’s eyes. It pained Stevie to see it, but she didn’t like to beat around the bush. Stevie was blunt and forward with her words and feelings, and she didn’t find any need to be passive about anything. In fact, it only seemed to complicate things. Ally took a little to compose herself before she spoke again. “You’re right. You’re not obligated to. But it would make me happy if it seemed like you cared about us, too…”

Stevie caught herself glaring a little, something she didn’t mean to do. She had no idea what Ally was talking about. There was no ‘us’ with them, and based on how Ally’s been acting with her wishy-washyness, there would never seem to be an ‘us.’ “There is no ‘us,’” she said, brushing aside all the sugar coating. “Is this what you wanted to talk about? Because I don’t need this right now.”

“I just…” Ally gently relaxed her eyes, closing them shut, “…want to find out what I did…” Her typically composed voice cracked a little, and Stevie heard Ally’s breaths a little quicker.

“Do you really want to know?”

Ally nodded. It was clear to Stevie that Ally didn’t trust herself to speak.

“Does the name Arielle ring a bell?”

Another nod. Ally slowly lifted her gaze up to Stevie’s and cocked her head to the side a little, as if to ask, “what about her?”

And something in Stevie cracked. It frustrated Stevie that Ally didn’t know. It irritated her and annoyed her that Ally was so oblivious to all that Stevie felt. It made her passionate and angry and pained—she would do all she could to get Ally to understand why, and if that meant releasing all she’d been feeling, then at this point, she couldn’t care less. “I don’t know. You tell me. _What about her?”_ she said, teeth clenched. She didn’t want to hurt Ally. “You ask for a ride back so you can meet with her. You tell me I’m beautiful but you imagine her.” Stevie paused a little, allowing herself room to breath. She took a tiny step back. “It feels like I’m just here until you find someone better,” she whispered self-consciously.

“Stevie—”

She didn’t give Ally any time to speak. “I don’t want to get hurt by you…” she paused, waiting for a reply, but found none. “And I don’t want to hurt you,” she raised her voice a little. “That’s what happened.”

“You don’t understand…” Ally sighed.

“Then tell me!” Stevie shouted desperately on the verge of tears, trying to break the barrier that had been put up between the two. It was a thick, glass wall that allowed them to see everything, but no matter how hard either of them pounded, they had nothing to tear it down but their fists banging and banging furiously against it. It was a wall in where both girls had their eyes closed, in fear of the glass shards, pounding as hard as they possibly could. But it wasn’t going down, and in her irritation, she had given up on trying to keep her voice calm in front of Ally. “What don’t I understand?! Because you kissing some random girl to sleep with her, but then flirting with me seems like—”

“Stevie!” Ally interrupted, slow tears making their way down Ally’s cheek. All of Stevie’s attention turned towards listening to the one who had just raised her voice indefinitely louder for her. Ally took Stevie’s hands, but Stevie pulled away gently, unable to meet the younger one’s eyes. There was a look of hurt in Ally’s eyes. “I don’t get why you didn’t just ask me about it when it happened. There’s nothing between me and Arielle.” Stevie felt Ally’s arms wrap around her, but she didn’t reciprocate it. She didn’t really know what to do at all, so she let Ally talk.

Ally buried her face into the crook of Stevie’s neck, and her muffled voice barely reaching into Stevie’s ears. “Stevie…” Ally said softly, hiding her face. Stevie was so close to Ally, though, that she could feel Ally’s heartbeat grow increasingly faster by the second. “I like you. I’ve liked you ever since we started talking. Arielle and I did nothing more than kiss once—the one time you saw us kiss at the door of the club. I slept over at her place, but nothing happened between us.” Ally stopped herself, hesitantly speaking the next few words. “I like you more than I ever thought I would, and Arielle was nothing more than a distraction because I thought you were straight.”

There was a silence that filled the air between them. “Then why was she at your place after the party?”

Ally pulled Stevie in even closer. There was nothing between their bodies but the clothes they wore, but Stevie’s arms stayed limply by her side. “I actually did forget my beanie, but she thought that maybe seeing me seemingly choosing someone else besides you would help you realize what you wanted. And maybe that’s what gave me the courage to confess, and maybe not, but what I do know is that all it did was push you away from me.” Stevie didn’t know what to say. There was nothing that came into her mind as she let this sink in. She just stood there, half shocked, half in disbelief and unconsciously wrapped her arms around the girl that she had wanted for so long. Ally lifted her head up slowly to meet Stevie in the eyes, and when they did, Stevie could see nothing but love and affection with a little addition of fear. The older one hadn’t spoke yet or given an answer to Ally’s confession, but she didn’t know how to properly convey her reciprocation in words.

So she did what she knew how to do best. Gently pushing Ally onto the lone bench, she straddled the younger one, taking the younger one between her legs and wrapping her arms around Ally’s neck. She touched her forehead to Ally’s, and she felt as Ally positioned her hands first on Stevie’s hip, but started trailing her hands up Stevie’s back. The older one closed the distance between them and placed her lips upon Ally’s. She kept her eyes open for a short second, only to make sure that Ally didn’t deny her, but closed her eyes in satisfaction once she saw the younger one do the same.

It was a feeling that Stevie had never felt before as she made contact with Ally’s soft, smooth lips—it made her stomach lurch forward in excitement and adrenaline, like butterflies in her stomach that only made her long for more, and she felt lightheaded and faint and so at ease. She pushed forward a little more and closed the distance between them even more, feeling the younger one reciprocating her every move. Stevie licked Ally’s lower lip gently, and laughed against Ally’s lips as the taste of pizza spread on her taste buds.

The younger one pulled away, but Stevie could still feel her lips tingling from the touch of Ally’s lips against her own. She looked the younger one in the eyes, panting lightly in sync with Ally. She leaned forward a little and felt their bodies press tightly together with every huff for breath. “What?” Ally glared playfully in response to Stevie’s laughter.

Stevie laughed. “You taste like pizza,” she said, giving Ally another light kiss.


	13. Smile

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shameless little self-promotion: I started a writing blog that I'll be updating with proses and snippets of my thoughts and quotes, so I would appreciate it so much if you could click the little follow button up top!  
> dropinthesun.tumblr.com
> 
> Sorry these are taking so long to get updated! I'm going to try to update hopefully every week from now on... but let's see if that works out.
> 
> Thank you, as always, for reading!
> 
> **rating changed to T for mild sexual content**

Stevie’s lips were upon Ally’s, the comfort of the younger one’s bed supporting the weight of both of them. The older one lain Ally down and guided her between her legs, Ally’s head resting in-between her hands. Ally had her own hands on Stevie’s hips to keep her from falling, but she immediately relaxed them to allow the older one to fall on top of her. She never wanted Stevie so far away from her, she thought, as her hands reached under the silky material of Stevie’s shirt, meeting warm, bare skin as she traced her outline and engraved her touch onto the older one’s back. She didn’t dare move any lower or higher than where her hands were, though, as if her lingering touch was asking for permission to explore more of Stevie’s body. Stevie locked eyes with Ally, a shy grin shining on her face and turned onto her back, grasping onto Ally’s confused hands. She directed Ally’s hands to touch her, and a gasp escaped the older one’s lips as Ally’s hands made contact with Stevie’s bare abdomen. Stevie guided her hands higher and highe—

Ally’s eyes shot open, her fingers immediately touching her lips as she sighed in disappointment. She couldn’t get Stevie out of her head, and she didn’t want to. That kiss had been all she had hoped for and more—it was a comfortable flurry of love and passion that surpassed all possible awkwardness, a melding of hidden feelings that had been kept inside for so long, all of it just bursted out at once—but ever since then, the thought of doing more than just that with Stevie plagued her mind. She rolled around a little in her bed and closed her eyes again.

 _Stevie._ That was the name that kept popping up in her head. She couldn’t stop imagining her beauty and perfection, and there would be nothing that Ally would like more than to ask Stevie to be her girlfriend. Technically, they weren’t dating yet since no one had done the asking, but it was pretty clear that Stevie liked Ally and that Ally liked Stevie. She grabbed at her pillow and hugged tightly against it, inhaling and imagining Stevie’s touch, her skin, her smell, her lips, her everything. There was nothing more she longed for than Stevie.

Their “talk” a couple days ago had been rudely interrupted by Stevie’s phone with her friends asking where she was. Ally had groaned in frustration, eyes begging Stevie to stay with her longer, but Stevie had told her friends beforehand that she would drive them to a taco joint to buy some tacos to go during lunch and of course, who could ever resist tacos? In exchange, Stevie promised to take Ally out on their first date during the weekend, a date that Ally was looking forward to a lot more than she would have liked to admit. The thought of the date was the only thing on Ally’s mind, and her mind was so preoccupied with it, she couldn’t seem to wipe the silly grin off of her face.

The next few days at school were filled with hidden desires and secret kisses. They would exchange quick pecks in the hallways when no one else was around, and during the breaks, they would be around people who knew about their relationship. In other words, they spent all their time hanging with Ali, Cammie, and Shannon. With them, the two closeted girls felt unchained to be together, holding hands, kissing, and acts of semi-public affection. It was like fire that Ally had never felt before with anyone. She would go to bed at night thinking that her affection for Stevie wouldn’t be able to grow bigger than it was that day, but the next day, Ally would lay eyes on Stevie and the burst of chaos in herself would become messier and messier.

Ally lain against her wall, the comfort of her bed underneath her as she strummed a little on the guitar. She closed her eyes and let the music entrance her, the gentle melody of the forming of a new song vibrating pleasantly against her voice-box. It was a tune that could be compared to the quietness of a lullaby, but the song itself revealed all of Ally’s packed emotions. Ally picked up her phone to pause the recording she had started—she didn’t want to lose the chance of writing a possible serenade song—but her eyes twinkled as she saw a text from Stevie.

 **Stevie Boebi [10:34pm]:** Excited for tomorrow!

A smile crept onto Ally’s lips. Stevie always knew how to make her smile.

 **Ally Hills [10:40pm]:** Me too, I’ll pick you up tomorrow. 5:30pm sounds good?

 **Stevie Boebi [10:42pm]:** Perfect. Wish we could have the whole day together…

Ally found herself nodding in reply as she read the text, fully knowing that Stevie had to go to work. She needed to support herself and her brother, and Ally was completely supportive of that. There was nothing more that she wanted to do than to help Stevie out in whatever ways possible, but she knew that Stevie would not want that. So she decided that the most she could do was support her emotionally and to, hopefully, make her as happy as she made Ally.

 **Ally Hills [10:46pm]:** I’ll get to see your pretty face after! Then you’re mine for the night  <3

 **Stevie Boebi [10:48pm]:** You flirt, I miss you. See you tomorrow  <3

Tomorrow. Tomorrow was the day that Ally would ask Stevie out. Not just on a date, but to be Ally’s girlfriend. The whole dinner thing was Stevie’s idea, but afterwards, Ally had already planned a little surprise that would involve music, fancy lighting, and a ring. She could hear the uneven, rapid beating of her heart pulse against her wrist and head as she thought about the plan for tomorrow—she wanted things to be perfect and romantic, and she didn’t know what she would do if Stevie said no. Stevie hadn’t really ever replied to Ally’s confession except with kisses, which kept Ally continuously in the dark about whether or not Stevie liked Ally or if she was just looking for a quick hook-up or if she was even ready to commit to a relationship. There were so many factors weighing on Ally’s mind, but she liked Stevie too much to let fear get in the way—and her proposal tomorrow would answer the question that she had been wondering all this time—what did Stevie think about them? It was a proposal to be more than friends, a proposal to be companions and lovers, and there was nothing Ally wanted more than to be able to see a smile on Stevie’s face.


	14. Thank You, Pretty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys are awesome; thank you for all the emails and comments and kudos! School's about to start up again for me, but I hope that I'll still be able to update at least weekly!
> 
> Thanks so much, guys <3
> 
> \--------
> 
> email: maplesdonut@gmail.com  
> tumblr: dropinthesun.tumblr.com

“That’ll be thirty two ninety-nine. Would you like a bag with that?” Stevie smiled a forced smile. She was tired after hours of working, and the fact that she kept looking at the clock didn’t make work pass by any faster. The day before, she had called a co-worker and asked him to fill in for her for the last few hours of her shift, which had originally been a nine to five. Since Ally was picking her up at her place at 5:30, though, Stevie wanted time to go home to get ready for their date.

The store that she worked at was a pretty small independent one that carried dresses Stevie thought was extremely cute, along with a well-furnished decor. Cream colored the walls, with splotches of pure white painted along the bottom half in an intricate, modern design. In the middle of the store was a rest area for those who were just waiting for others to shop—there were four white individual couches all facing a black, wooden coffee table. In the opposite side of the store stood the cash register, hidden behind another black, wooden countertop, where Stevie had been standing for hours on end to make sure that customers were able to get their questions answered and buy their dresses.

A text from Ally popped up on her phone from the corner of her eyes as she continued helping a customer. “No bag? Alright. Here’s your receipt, if I could just have your signature right here,” she smiled, a real smile this time, eyeing the phone from the corner of her eye. The customer finished and returned the receipt to Stevie, who handed her the dress and thanked her for her purchase. After seeing that the store was empty, she unlocked her phone to check.

**Ally Hills [2:36pm]:** Hope you’re having a great day at work! See ya later!

            -----------

Stevie glanced over at the clock on her car as she pulled her car into the driveway. Work had been a bit exhausting, but there was nothing keeping her happier than knowing that she would be seeing Ally in a few hours. It was an hour before Ally was here to pick her up, and she still had to shower.

There was a tingle that spread throughout her, a nervousness in her that wouldn’t grow still as she started to get ready. She liked Ally too much, and she didn’t want to ruin their relationship.

Stevie let cool water rush over her, trying to still her rushing heart. There was so much affection she felt for Ally, and the younger one treated her with so much care that no one had treated her with before. She knew that she was the one that had suggested this date, but once Ally learned that she had work earlier in the day, the younger one had coerced Stevie into letting her pick her up and plan the date. She wouldn’t let Ally plan the entire thing, though, and what they had compromised on was, Ally would plan dinner out for them, but afterwards, Stevie would plan out what to do. Her mouth turned upwards softly thinking of their conversation days earlier. She had never felt so much affection from someone else in such an unconditional way. There had always been a ‘so, what’s in it for me?’ from most everyone in her past. But with Ally, she didn’t feel like Ally was trying to get anything for herself.

_“We’re still on for Saturday, right?” she had asked a very quiet Ally casually during zero period._

_A smile immediately formed on the younger one’s face. “Of course. Dinner, right?”_

_“Yeah. I have work right beforehand, so I’ll pick you up afterwards at around… let’s say, 5:30pm?”_

_Ally stood still for a second, as if lost in thought. Stevie wondered if something was wrong or if maybe the time didn’t work out for her. Her mouth opened to ask, before Ally replied. “Girl! I’ll be picking you up and planning the date.” She opened her mouth to speak, once more, before Ally cut her off. “Don’t try arguing with me! If you’re coming straight from work, then let me do this for you.”_

_Stevie sighed a smile and shook her head lightly. “Ally—“_

_“Let me do this for you,” the younger one insisted._

_“Ally,” Stevie’s voice dropped into a semi-stern tone. “You don’t have to. I’m the one that asked you out.”_

_“I want to.”_

_The older one shook her head again. She didn’t want Ally planning this since she wanted to make this a special day for her, but she also knew that Ally could be quite stubborn when it came down to it. “Then how about this? You can pick me up and plan the dinner, but as for where we go after and what we do, that’s on me.”_

_Ally thought for a second before speaking. “Fine,” she responded, a little contempt in her voice. She pouted a little and crossed her arms._

_Stevie leaned forward a little and cupped her hand around Ally’s ear as if telling her a secret, speaking only as loud as Ally could here. “Thank you, pretty,” she whispered, secretly planting a short kiss on Ally’s temple. She laughed as Ally went a little red and stammered in shock._

Slipping out of the showers, she wrapped a towel around her and contemplated what to wear. Of course, she wanted to keep it casual, but she also wanted to impress Ally a bit. She knew that Ally wouldn’t care, but the fact that this was their first date made her heart patter like there was no end and her mind spun at the thought of being able to kiss Ally goodnight afterwards. Or even more than just goodnight, if Ally didn’t mind a bit of public displays of affection. Or maybe even more than that, maybe something past a kiss. There was no denying it; Stevie liked Ally. A lot. And she wanted to be with Ally in as intimate a way as possible. Her recent hook-ups have all been emotionless one night stands on her end, with it either ending in nothing or the guy being overly attached to Stevie, but this was the first time Stevie wanted it for the emotions and the connection rather than the act itself.

Her hands reached forward, taking a loose, white v-neck t-shirt and a gray cardigan, complementing it with black jeans that had intentional rips at the knees. She checked herself in the mirror a little, nodding in affirmation.

            --------------

Ally hummed to herself a little while scrubbing her body with soap. There seemed to be nothing that could wipe the smile off her face—no annoying older sister or anything. This was a date that she had been too excited for for forever, and she wasn’t going to let anything ruin her date. There had been a lot of planning on her part, and she wanted to make it perfect for the two of them. Of course, like any cliché date, they would go for dinner first at Lyfe Restaurant since she wasn’t too sure about Stevie’s diet yet. In fact, there wasn’t much that she knew about Stevie, but she was planning on changing that this time around. After the restaurant, there wasn't much else to plan since Stevie would be deciding what they were going to do, but Ally had a secret surprise afterwards planned out. She had asked Ali, Shannon, and Cammie to help her set up a little while the two were out on their date, of course, keeping it a secret from Stevie. That was the one part of the date that was a little bittersweet for her—she felt so nervous and scared about her surprise, but if everything works out as planned, there would be nothing in the world that would make her happier.


	15. All According to Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a little more than a week, so sorry about the delay! But I hope that you guys enjoy ^^
> 
> I don't really know how often I can update now with classes starting up, but I'll really try my best.
> 
> Thank you all for reading <3 You guys are the best!

“So then, there was this rude-ass customer who just couldn’t understand that customer service doesn’t mean servitude,” Stevie started, picking at her food a little with her fork. She groaned a little. “I’m so tired of people who don’t treat other humans like people.” She didn’t mean to spend the first few moments of their date complaining, but it was on her mind.

Ally gave her a sympathetic look. “I don’t get it either. Like, have they ever worked a customer service job?”

“Exactly!” Stevie let out a breath. “But this food is really good though.”

“Right? I’ve been trying to go vegan.”

“Vegan?” Stevie raised her eyebrows at Ally. “You? Is that why you took me here?” Ally widened her eyes at Stevie and nodded, a childish grin on her face. “But what about cheeseburgers? And pizza?”

The younger one looked down and scrunched her eyebrows a little, which made Stevie’s heart melt a little. It was so cute when Ally was like that—something Stevie had learned during the time she’s spent with Ally was that there were times when she would respond in a little bit of a more timid or shy or childish persona, and that shy persona of hers was absolutely adorable. “Maybe… maybe I’ll start vegetarian then. I just love pizza. And cheeseburgers.” Ally pouted a little.

Stevie laughed. “Well, there’s vegan pizza. We should totally go together next time.”

The corners of Ally’s mouth tilted upwards slightly upon hearing that. “So you’re asking me out on another date already? Oooh girl, you move fast.”

“Shut up. And _who’s_ the one who asked for my number after one movie?”

“I asked for your number but I didn’t text you until after a couple days later. That takes some serious self control.”

Stevie gave the younger one a light smirk. “It took self control to not text me, then? I knew that you couldn’t get enough of me, Allison.” She allowed herself to linger on the younger one’s name, knowing that it was a tiny pet peeve of hers being called by her full first name.

“I can never win with you, you know that?”

“That’s what you get for dating your TA.” She picked at her food a little, noticing the awkwardness of the silence between them. What made it worse was that there was no music in the background to lighten the air, and she was left wondering whether Ally felt uncomfortable or not, too. “So, it’s been bothering me since we got here, but what kind of restaurant doesn’t have music?”

Stevie raised her hand slightly to the waiter helping the table to their left. He gave her a quick nod before heading over and asking how he could be of service.

“So… I was wondering if you could turn on some music,” Stevie started to ask. “Are you trying to make a first date awkward?”

The waiter looked surprised for a minute, glancing between Stevie and Ally a couple times before apologizing. “I’m sorry. Our manager doesn’t like music.”

“Doesn’t like music?! What kind of person doesn’t like music?” Ally chimed, the musician side of her kicking in.

A laugh came from the waiter. “I don’t know, you ask me.”

“God, your job must be horrible without it, though.”

“Well… I mean, it’s okay. You get to observe all the awkward first dates this way, right? Anyways, I’ll go turn some on.” Stevie thanked him before he left, leaving her and Ally in a lull. The two ate in silence for a little while, before Ally dismissed herself to use the restroom.

There was a slight nervousness building up inside Stevie. She liked Ally Hills. A lot. And she wanted her to enjoy the time they had together, but this dinner… this date… it hadn’t got exactly as either of them had planned. Sure, they knew they had feeling for each other, but for some reason, a wall was erect between them that only caused awkwardness and silence. And Stevie was determined to break it down.

“So Ally,” Stevie started as she took her seat again. She looked at her phone and read the first question aloud in which she had googled ‘ice breaker questions.’ “If you could be any animal, what would it be and why?”

            ----------

“Girl!! Where are you making me drive?” Ally shouted. Stevie sat in the passenger seat, calmly giving Ally instructions on where to go. As promised, she was planning the second half of the date, but she wanted to keep it a surprise.

“Allison. You’re a _terrible_ driver, god damn it! I swear, I’m going to get a bruise on my shoulder from all this.”

“You just have to give me quicker instructions! I’m not always this bad.”

“Mmm,” Stevie laughed. “Are you sure about that?”

Ally stopped at a red light, giving Stevie a look. “Mmhm.”

“Well, aren’t you confident?” she retorted, leaning in to give Ally a light kiss on the lips. “I guess I can still like you even if you drive like this.”

            ----------

Ally parked in the street, in front of a building barred by a gate. On the gate lay red roses and its vines, intertwining and encircling the entirety of the gate excluding the white skull that lay bare in the middle, covering the majority of the building. Stevie knew that this was the perfect place to take Ally on a first date. She never really understood it, but Ally had a profound love and interest for blood, death, and anything of the like. Stevie, on the other hand, shriveled a little at the mention of a horror movie. There was nothing that fascinated her about being intentionally scared, watching as people died or met imminent doom.

The look on Ally’s face the moment she drove in immediately told Stevie that bringing her here was worth it. There was a glow on her face that Stevie didn’t understand, but… well, there it was.

What hooked Stevie’s attention as they went through the exhibits wasn’t the exhibits themselves, but the excitement coming from the younger girl. She couldn’t seem to take her eyes off the younger girl. There was always something captivating about seeing someone either talking about or doing something that they were into, and that’s something that had always been attractive to Stevie. The glow, the brightness, the smile, and the interest. Sure, there were torture chambers and bodies covered in fake blood and empty hospital beds with a haunting exterior and a creepy two headed turtle around her, but that wasn’t keeping her from taking hold of Ally’s hand. She felt Ally’s arm stiffen immediately when she did, and the younger girl looked down shyly but didn’t let go. Giving her hand a quick squeeze, Stevie smiled at Ally and pecked her on the cheek real quickly.

Stevie made sure not to let go for the rest of the time they were there, but Ally didn’t seem to want to let go, either.

            -----------

“So, how was it?” Stevie asked, tugging on the seatbelt to put it on.

“It was amazing. Thank you,” Ally smiled. She leaned in shyly and gave Stevie a kiss. The older one kissed back and closed her eyes, deepening the kiss between them. Ally’s soft lips were molded perfectly in-between her own lips, but she sensed a light shyness in Ally that made her hold back. She pulled back a little and rested her forehead against the younger girl’s.

“What’s wrong?” she whispered, her eyes still closed. Ally pulled her head back, and Stevie tried to open her eyes to see what was wrong, but the moment she did, her vision was enveloped in darkness. A blindfold was around her eyes, but when she tried to take it off, she noticed that there was a pair of hands keeping it in place. “ _Allison Hills!_ ” she shouted in surprise. “What are you doing?”

“You’re about to find out,” she heard from the driver’s seat. But it wasn’t Ally. No, it was Shannon.

“It’s a surprise!” a voice came from behind her seat, and she realized it was the person holding her blindfold in place.

Shannon and Cammie had replaced Ally, and she had absolutely no idea where she was being taken.

            ------------

 **Ally Hills [8:48pm]:** Is everything set?

 **Ali Spags [8:49pm]:** Yep! All according to plan.


	16. Do You Love Me, Too?

“Alright. So, what else is left?” Ali sighed in relief when she saw Ally.

“I think this is good. Thanks, Ali.” Ally responded, pulling a sweatshirt over herself. “It’s a little chilly though. I hope Stevie won’t be too cold. Oh god, I just want this to be perfect.”

“I know. But everything’s going all according to plan so far. Cammie just texted me and asked me if we needed more time.”

“You can tell her that we’re okay. I think…”

Ali sighed, shaking her head. “Ally. Look at me.” Ally lifted her head up a little, meeting the other girl in the eyes. “Stevie absolutely adores you. You’ll be fine.” The blond picked up the guitar that was resting against the bench next to her and handed it to Ally. “Just don’t forget your lyrics,” she laughed, giving Ally a light punch in the arm.

“I can’t possibly forget. I’ve practiced this for too long.” Ally wasn’t sure if she was saying those words to convince herself or Ali, but she knew that she was the only one that needed convincing.

“I know you have. So you don’t have to worry. Even if you mess up, it’ll just be for shits and giggles later.”

Ally nodded and placed the guitar strap around her neck. “ _But what if she doesn’t respond the way she’s supposed to?_ ”

Ali laughed. “Then I guess you’re improvising the song.” A look of worry came upon Ally’s face again, to which Ali responded with another light punch. “But trust me, she loves this song. She’ll know what to say right after the your solo.”

“When did you guys get so close?” Ally furrowed her eyebrows.

“Jealous?” Ali prodded, shaking her head in amusement. “So I’m actually thinking of starting a youtube channel, and Stevie was helping me out with one of my videos.”

 Ally stood in place, a little dumbfounded. “Wait… w-what? A youtube channel?” Ali nodded. “GIRL, you didn’t tell me about this!”

“Well, I’m telling you now… anyways, let’s talk about this later. Cammie texted me back and said they’re almost here.”

“Mmhm, we’re _definitely_ talking about this later!” Ally said, earning a light chuckle from Ali. “But thank you for doing this for me.”

“Yeah, of course. It’s no big deal. Don’t start going all sentimental on me.”

Ally laughed, walking towards the middle of the garden pagoda. She took a deep breath and shook out all the nerves, watching as Ali made her way back to her car.

Ever since Stevie asked Ally out on the date, Ally had been planning this for the whole week. She had decided that she would ask Stevie to be her girlfriend since nothing was set and official yet, but after she had confessed, Stevie didn’t do anything but kiss her. That left her wondering if Stevie was still just testing the waters, or if she actually was attracted to Ally in the same way. She immediately went to Shannon and Cammie for advice, and after hearing what Ally wanted to do, they freaked out in excitement and told her that they wanted to help. The whole week, the two of them and Ally got together and planned the asking, eventually telling Ali about it, as well.

The moon was full that night, moonlight shedding light upon the pagoda like a spotlight. Wind whistled through the air, its chill beginning to numb Ally’s lips. She licked them and rubbed her hands together for warmth. Cold hands were never good when trying to play guitar. Other than that, the atmosphere was exactly as Ally had hoped for.

Standing before the pagoda was a darkened stone path leading up, lined with mini LED lights that illuminated a path for Stevie to walk. The pagoda itself was decorated with white Christmas lights, providing just enough brightness for the area and a small radius around it. And, of course, Ally stood in the middle of the lighted area, holding her guitar.

Voices started to sound in the near distance, which Ally recognized as Stevie, Cammie, and Shannon.

“Where are you taking me? And where’s Ally?” she heard Stevie shout in the distance.

“You’ll see, you’ll see. We’re almost there,” Cammie replied, nonchalantly.

“Almost where?”

Neither of the girls answered as they walked up to where the candle lights started. Cammie looked at Ally and gave her two thumbs up and a small nod while Shannon took off Stevie’s blindfold.

“Almost here,” Shannon finally replied, giving Stevie a smile. She gave Stevie a push, motioning her to walk down the path before leaving hand in hand with Cammie.

Ally watched from the end of the path as Stevie glanced around and walked slowly down. She couldn’t see Stevie’s expression from where she stood, but there was no doubt that Stevie was shocked—whether a good shock or bad shock, she would find out soon.

The older girl took the three steps up to the pagoda. “Ally…”

Ally smiled at her and started to play her guitar. “So Ali tells me that you love this song and will know exactly what to do,” she breathed. Her voice was a little shaky from nervousness, and she silently cursed at herself for it. She started by playing the notes for the whistle solo, to which Stevie laughed.

“That’s _my_ whistle solo!”

Ally shrugged at the older one and smiled, and Stevie started singing along when Ally finished the solo.

 _"Do you like me in a dress?”_ Stevie voice floated gently through the silent air, and Ally sighed in contentment. Not only was she beautiful inside and out, but she also had a voice that matched.

 _“I like you very best,”_ Ally continued.

 The two continued to sing together, and Ally couldn’t help but gaze into Stevie’s eyes. There was something about her that Ally couldn’t grasp, but it made her so attracted to her. Her personality, her smile, her angry rants, her honesty… it made Ally smile and feel fuzzy inside, and she didn’t know what to do whenever she felt those fuzzies except kiss Stevie.

“Do you wanna do _your_ whistle solo?”

Stevie smiled. “Of course.”

There was nothing that seemed to be able to tear them apart in this moment. Stevie was so talented and confident, and not to add on, extremely good looking, and everything about her made Ally happy around the older one.

_“Tell me if it’s true,_

_Am I in love with you,_

_Tell me do you love me, too?”_ they sang together, the last strum of the guitar ringing in the air.

Without wasting a moment, Ally turned around and grabbed the bouquet of yellow roses with red tips, presenting it to Stevie. “Stevie, will you be my girlfriend?”

Taking the roses from Ally, Stevie leaned over and kissed Ally. “Yes. Yes,” she whispered on her lips, to which Ally couldn’t help but smile. “I can’t believe you did all this _just_ to ask me out. And, of course, got me kidnapped.”

“Will you forgive me for that?” Ally grinned sheepishly.

“That depends… will you forgive me for the way I acted with Arielle?”

Ally leaned in again and planted another kiss on Stevie. “Of course.”

            -----------

 _Is it possible to be this happy?_ Ally thought to herself when she woke up. She had thought that the weekend had been all a dream, but she was clearly proven wrong the moment she opened her eyes. Her arm was wrapped around Stevie’s bare stomach, moving in sync with each inhale and exhale of hers. For the past two nights, Ally had stayed over at Stevie’s place, and they would do everything together. During the times when Stevie had work, Ally hung around and got to know Stevie’s brother more, but the past two days had been the happiest Ally’s ever been. She wished that she could stay another night, but once the weekend ends and school rolls around, she knew that her mom would want her home preferably.

Ally had woken up before the alarm, so Stevie still lay asleep underneath her arms. She pulled Stevie closer to her, using her fingertips to randomly trace Stevie’s bare back and kissing her neck.

“Mmmm. Good morning, beautiful,” Ally heard from next to her, and Stevie turned around to face Ally. “What time is it?”

“The alarm was just about to ring.”

“Mm alright. Let’s stay like this for a little longer,” she whispered, intertwining her fingers with Ally’s.

“I would love to,” Ally said, kissing Stevie on the cheek, “but I still have to shower.” Ally pulled the sheets away and started to stand, lifting Stevie out of bed with her. “Join me?”

“Mmm…” Stevie groaned, rubbing her eyes tiredly.

Ally raised her eyebrows in amusement. “You’re dressed the part already anyways,” she laughed.

Stevie seemed to wake up immediately at that, her eyes widening. She threw a pillow in Ally’s direction, which the younger one easily caught. “Shut up!”

“Then come join me,” Ally whined, pouting a little for Stevie to see. The older one shook her head and lifting herself off the bed, wrapping her arms around and kissing her. They stood like that for a second, skin to skin, before Stevie grabbed Ally’s hand and pulled her in the direction of the bathroom. “And I thought you didn’t want to get up,” Ally teased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter... thanks for sticking with me throughout this whole fanfic. You guys are the best <3
> 
> I know that it's a bit abrupt and there are some holes and whatnot, but I realized that I don't have much time to write for fun anymore, so this is going to be it.
> 
> Thanks again, guys!


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